


Leftovers

by Malignent



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Drama, Dramedy, F/F, Family Feels, Fluff, Other, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Recovery
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-24
Updated: 2020-06-06
Packaged: 2020-10-27 07:24:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 57,389
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20756558
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Malignent/pseuds/Malignent
Summary: Spinel's done well for herself over the past few months in homeworld. With Pink Pearl's help, she's been working hard to regain as much of her former self as possible. But despite the encouragement of the Diamonds, her actual progress has been middling at best. Still feeling battered by the changes she'd had to undergo, Spinel suddenly finds herself working with Pink Pearl to aid a gem far too familiar for her comfort. Resolved to put her own pain aside to aid someone else, Spinel embarks on a quest of realization with this not so unfamiliar face that may be just what she needs to rekindle her love of the laugh.





	1. A Spin for Spinel

It was moments like this that they could never get her to talk about.

So determined was she to test her juggling capabilities that she'd stood before them having that Pink Pearl bring more and more stuff to add to the stream of objects currently being spun through the air. She'd done several dances whenever she managed to incorporate something new into the act, with all three of them encouraging and congratulating her. The sheer spectacle of her capabilities one of the reasons they'd begged for her presence in the first place. Everyone was smiling, indulging in the air of goofiness that surrounded her...

...but then Spinel would slow down.

It wasn't anything overtly noticeable the first few times, but after several months the routine had gotten to the point where even White Diamond would take note of it. Spinel's smile would become less genuine, and she'd get a far away look in her eyes. Maybe she'd bounce less enthusiastically or her giggles would be stilted, but the end result was the same. 

"Spinel, Darling." it was Blue who asked this time "Are you alright?"

And once more she'd jolt, her juggling unbalanced just enough for numerous crystal decorations and trinkets to start falling to the floor. Just like every other time, she'd quickly move to cover up. Her arms and one leg looping and stretching around the falling objects and pulling them tight before anything could break.

"Sorry!" she'd say before piling everything back into the Pink Pearl's arms "I just remembered a really nice one o' them buildin's I saw yesterday, seemed like it'd be really fun to go slidin' down the side of it but... now I'm not really so sure." 

Glancing towards the Pink Pearl, Spinel gave a small cough "Hey, uh... Pinks? Think you can do some kind of measurements that'll tell if it'll be safe to do?"

The Pink Pearl gave a nod, "If that is your command, Lady Spinel."

"N-no I just was asking if you can..." Spinel explained

White Diamond and Yellow Diamond shared a pointed look to one another as Spinel excused herself, promising that if it was possible she'd want them all to see her sliding by the middle of tomorrow. She waved back while she and the Pearl took their leave, and the three diamonds waved as well before growing quiet.

Yellow Diamond was the one to break the silence which had formed in the absence of Spinel and the Pearl "So... it would seem she's still having... issues." 

"It's awful..." Blue Diamond sighed whilst clasping her hands together "I figured she'd come to at least one of us for aid by now.... has she-?"

"No." the other two diamonds answered.

"Which might not be such a bad thing," Yellow Diamond admitted before leaning her cheek into a palm and looking over their throne room "you've had more experience with the whole empathizing shtick than either of us."

White Diamond seemed to take a small amount of offense to that, "Now hold on," she folded her arms as her fellow diamonds looked up to her "I'll have you know that I've already developed quite a touching, not to mention thoughtful, talk about the need to distract oneself during turmoil."

"Distract?" Yellow raised an eyebrow

"Yes, it's a superior form of a speech I once gave Pink some eons ago." White sighed with a wistful expression 

"As if Pink ever listened to any of our speeches back then." Blue Diamond muttered

"Besides, if memory serves correct, wasn't that very speech the prelude to you granting her Spinel in the first place?" Yellow noted before shaking her head "And we know how that turned out."

"It just needed a little work-shopping!" White defended herself before settling aback against her throne with a thoughtful expression "I'm certain if she'd actually come to me for comfort, things would turn out better than with Pink."

"If you say so..." Blue Diamond clenched her hands together "It just hurts to think about how alone she must feel... if she can't come to us then... maybe with Pearl-!"

"That one's a whole other problem." Yellow grumbled before growing a small smile and glancing back up to White "Too bad we can't just give them a playmate like with Pink, hm?"

White Diamond matched her smile with one of her own, giving a curt laugh before waving such an idea off "Oh, of course not! It wasn't exactly simple growing her. The nutrients she needed were so specific that when Pink first got her, I kept reminding her of how much trouble she'd be in if she broke her or something."

Growing another thoughtful look, White Diamond gave a discontent hum "Of course, thinking back to it, those reminders probably didn't help." leaning to the side, she met the gazes of her fellow diamonds and sulked "Oh, if only I had noticed the signs: how distant she'd been growing, how curt our interactions had become, how she'd never have little Spinel with her during the calls yet never asked for the replacement-"

White's eyes shot wide open, nearly matching the stunned expressions her fellow diamonds now sported.

"What..." Blue Diamond leaned over the armrest of her throne whilst giving a cautious glance around "what exactly do you mean by that, White?"

White placed the tips of her fingers to her mouth, thinking for a moment before wincing "Oh.... Oh my..."

"What's 'Oh My'?" Yellow demanded whilst standing from her throne and turning on the largest diamond "That response does not inspire confidence."

Under the gaze of Yellow and Blue, White coughed into a fist before giving a somewhat awkward smile "Well..."

* * *

"Are you serious!?!" Yellow demanded as soon as the bubble was presented. Having relocated to White Diamond's ship, the three Diamonds now gathered around what was unmistakably a bubbled Spinel. 

"In my defense," White raised the bubble in front of her in one hand while tapping a finger to her lower lip "Pink did end up misusing her's."

"And you just forgot..." Yellow continued with narrowed eyes "...that you had a bubbled replacement this entire time?"

"I was fairly busy..." White continued with a shrug "after we lost her, it was far easier to focus on work."

"This whole time..." Blue took the bubble and turned away as she looked over the floating heart-shaped gem inside "a piece of her sealed away..."

"I had assumed you did nothing more than govern Homeworld during the second Era." Yellow paced around the room "But to know that you could distract yourself from something such as this..."

Glancing back to White diamond, Yellow raised an eyebrow "Are there any other things you may have forgotten? I shouldn't have to remind you that Blue and I already took actions to begin correcting our misdeeds."

"So have I!" White replied "It was over six millennia ago, surely I can't be expected to remember every Pink contingency I put in place!"

"How about listing a few, see if it jogs your memory?"

As the two went back and forth, Blue stared down at the gem. Spinel's replacement... just in case Pink ever lost her? Surely years ago she would've agreed that such a thing was necessary, given how fickle Pink could be with her toys. Now, after seeing just how far Gemkind could go without the Diamond Authority, she could already feel several tears forming at the sides of her eyes. A gem made solely to replace another, then left forgotten. Blue tried focusing on the positives, it was another piece of Pink returned to them. But then she realized that this Spinel couldn't even boast the familiarity with Pink that theirs could. If what White had said was true, Pink had never even played with her.

"Has... she ever even formed?" Blue wondered aloud, her hands trembling at the thought. 

"Need I remind you that Steven expects all of us to be on our best behavior." Yellow pointed out whilst pausing beside White "Just how would he react if say... a Kindergarten was still functioning that _someone_ just so happened to forget?"

"An entire Kindergarten?" White Diamond shook her head with a smirk "Now please, so I forgot about one of Pink's old toys, it's not like an entire Kindergarten could just- hm."

She paused before placing a finger to her lip in thought. Yellow took note of it immediately before folding her arms "What's with that reaction?"

Blue had found her way to White Diamond's stand, where she sat with the Bubble still floating in her grasp. Usually, anything which reminded her of Pink Diamond was a delight. But they already had Spinel, would it be alright to just send this one out on her own? From what she remembered of Spinel back when Pink and her played, they were designed to emotionally bond with their owners. Era three gems were encouraged to move beyond their designations, to become whatever they wished to become. Blue knew what had to be done, what Steven would say they should do. The question was just how were they supposed to go about it? She supposed they could call upon other gems for assistance, but-

"Blue."

Snapped out of her thoughts, Blue Diamond looked up to Yellow Diamond, who kept casting glances back towards White, "Hm?"

"I was wondering if you were okay with that?"

Blue Diamond blinked as she stood up "I'm sorry, I was a bit overwhelmed by..." she looked down to the bubble before meeting Yellow's gaze again "Okay with what?"

Yellow placed a fist to her hip and placed a hand on Blue's shoulder "In light of recent... revelations." she cast a brief look back towards White "It would seem prevalent for White to take a little trip to see if all of her affairs are in order. Since there's only so much to do at the palace now that the Authority was dissolved, I was going to suggest we go with her... but if you feel as though resolving this is more prevalent then-"

"What? No!" Blue caught herself before smiling "Some time away seems like a wonderful idea. I'd love to go but... doing so without at least releasing her seems, irresponsible."

Yellow smirked "I'm glad at least one of us gets that," she reached down to pluck the bubble before looking it over "Though whatever solution we come to should be reached with haste. I'm not keen on letting potential issues go unresolved."

"Oh there's no reason to worry, Yellow." White spoke up, garnering their attention while gesturing to herself "I've devised a solution to fix several problems at once."

"Given your track record," Yellow looked back at her "forgive my skepticism." 

"Well in that case there's even less cause for concern." White shrugged before glancing to Blue "Because I believe Blue was considering something quite similar."

* * *

"Pinks! You here?"

Spinel walked the halls of the Palace, pressing her gloved hands around her mouth to call out for her Pearl, "I wasn't able to get the timing right on the slide!" she declared with a miffed groan "I was thinking that if we really planned it out though, I could probably get some amazing air!"

Pink Pearl was smart, she could probably figure out what they needed. Spinel had grown accustomed to relying on her for the brainier games they'd play. Back when the Diamonds had first brought her to the Palace, she'd defaulted back to the games she was confident that she could play. While they were fun, and the Diamonds certainly encouraged her to use them, they just reminded her too much of when she played them with another particular Diamond. It was only when Pink Pearl had shown up offering her service that Spinel could really expand her arsenal of fun. Now she had science! And mathematics! And all types of calculated ways to make her Diamonds smile. Pink Pearl also provided much needed company when the Diamonds couldn't stay around for some reason or other. It made getting used to their absence far less... stressful than Spinel had pictured it.

And all that Pearl had asked for in return was a chance to serve. Neither Spinel nor the Diamonds had understood it at first, but Pearl had all but insisted she provide aid. Spinel had heard about the whole Era Three motto of gems finding their own path, had expected all the old servants to be out exploring themselves or whatever. It had dawned on Spinel the more she'd heard her speak. How she'd tend to stare at her instead of the Diamonds even when talking to them, how she kept using mannerisms from the First Era. And then Spinel finally questioned the Diamonds themselves and figured out just what had happened to Pink's other forgotten servant over the past six millennia. That had probably been the greatest deciding factor for Spinel to accept the offer, she'd been hoping that being around someone else who was awkward due to Diamond-style negligence would be comforting. 

And yet...

Pausing in the middle of one of the Palace's halls, Spinel grimaced to herself. Even with all this support, why couldn't she just move on? Why did even her new routines suffer? Why did making gems smile, not feel good? This was her default state of being, what she was made for. If Pink Diamond had managed to ruin her this thoroughly then what was even the point? She'd been hoping that starting over with the other Diamonds would help her revert to some semblance of her former jovial self. Instead, the gap between her and the gem she was six millennia ago seemed to widen by the day. It didn't help that her inability to complete a routine was becoming more and more noticeable, her juggling act today had been carefully planned out with Pearl, and even then she managed to ruin it. At least the Diamonds hadn't been able to see the complete wipe out that was her first roof-slide attempt. She'd never be able to call herself an Entertainer at that point. 

Groaning, Spinel finally found herself drawing closer to her room, which had once been Pink's. She knew that Pearl would never show displeasure if one of their performances fell through, but having all her work go to waste never felt good. Spinel was preparing a little apology jig as she approached the door, just out of principle.

"Didn't work out too swell," she began while stepping inside "my footin' was probably off just a-"

She wasn't there, instead a single bubble floated off the ground with several small towers constructed around it. Spinel might've deflated if she didn't recognize the gem inside the bubble immediately. How couldn't she? It was the same as the one on her chest, except her's was...

Eyes growing wide, a hand immediately went to her own gem as Spinel approached it. Along the towers, the Pebbles who were openly admiring the bubble turned to give tiny waves as Spinel drew near. Usually she'd give a wave and let them climb on her a bit while killing time, but now Spinel's hands immediately went for the bubble. She pressed her face against it, eyes locked on the gem inside as memories flitted about her head. Her grip tightened, and soon the bubble popped. Her startled hands twisted and grasped wildly before clutching the gem between them. Unfurling her arms, she brought the gem to her eyes once more. She rubbed a thumb along its surface for a moment, still not entirely convinced it was really there. But the glow it began emitting said otherwise. She backed away as the gem floated out of her palms, which grew heavier with disbelief as a familiar yet oh so unfamiliar form began taking shape. Her arms fell to the floor like a pile of heavy noodles, followed soon by her legs as she collapsed to her knees.

The giggles came first as the form seemed to momentarily squeeze into itself before launching directly into Spinel. She barely even recognized that she was on her back now, so overwhelmed by the eyes that gleamed as they looked her over "Wow! I almost can't believe it!" 

Spinel's mouth moved, but no legible words formed as a pair of arms wrapped tightly around her and lifted her off the ground before spinning with her "My bestest friend looks so much like me, it's amazing!!!" her captor cried with cheer "Oh it's so good to finally meet you!"

Still finding herself incapable of movement, Spinel merely continued gazing in slack-jawed awe at the newly formed Spinel as she continued spinning her around with glee.

The Pebbles watched them with unrestrained amazement, more of them ascending the towers by constructing staircases and passageways to get a better view. They watched for a moment until the door slid open and Pink Pearl paused upon stepping inside "Ah, you came here." she noted before folding her hands together and approaching "And I see you've found-"

"PINKS!" the sight of the Pearl seemed to shock Spinel out of her stupefied state, and almost immediately she lunged forward, stretching her body until she slid out of the other Spinel's grasp. Collapsing against Pink Pearl, she held her tight before casting a terrified glance behind her "What is... she's-!"

The new Spinel gave a cheerful wave, and Pearl released a small giggle before looking down, "I was hoping to introduce you, but it would seem that won't be necessary." patting her on the head, Pink Pearl nodded "The Diamonds discovered her. Apparently she was never activated by her intended owner and was simply left bubbled since her creation. Given the circumstances, they figured we'd be good candidates to help her."

"But..." Spinel squeezed her eyes shut before forcing her gaze to settle on the New Spinel "Why couldn't they..?"

"Some sort of Diamond business led them off-planet for the time being." Pink Pearl pulled away and folded her arms behind her back "I actually find it quite amusing to be trusted so much, Lady Spinel, though it was rather sudden-"

"Woah woah!" the New Spinel slapped her hands to her cheeks in amazement "You're named Spinel too?!?"

Whirling over to them, she stretched one arm up to Spinel's face before booping her on the nose "We was practically made for each other, best friend!"

Spinel immediately backed away, hands tugging on her pigtails in distress "W-what exactly are we supposed to do with her?!?"

Pink Pearl hummed "I do believe Blue Diamond's exact words were to 'Help her become her own Gem.' or something of that manner. She's still got her base design, so for the moment being your friend will override most of her other desires. But you aren't like her, so it should be possible to help her change as well-"

"No!" Spinel suddenly shouted, zipping her arms around her giggling doppelganger before pulling her close "For me... for me to be this way... I wouldn't wish that on anyone! Ever!!!"

"I wasn't suggesting sitting her somewhere for a millennium." Pearl pointed out with a smile before tapping a toe next to the Pebble towers "In fact, I've actually devised several methods for how we could go about this."

Spinel tried to match her enthusiasm, but the smile she gave was about as hollow as she felt inside. Her gaze turned down to the smiling Spinel in her arms who sank into her grasp with yet another giggle. The image was uncanny at first, the only notable difference between this gem and what she looked like back when she played with Pink Diamond was the gem placement. Whereas her gem was on her chest, this Spinel's gem was situated right between her shoulders on her back. Cautiously, she poked her, eliciting a giggle as the New Spinel looked up at her with an ear-to-ear grin.

How... how was she expected to do this? Even with Pink Pearl's help, Spinel couldn't even help herself let alone another gem. Seeing this fresh, wide-eyed gem become anything even close to her was a thought so fundamentally miserable that Spinel had to lean on her to keep her legs from buckling. But even as she considered leaving the task to Pink Pearl, she couldn't deny that seeing such an unrestrained smile on a face that used to be identical to her's seemed comforting. She really did used to look so happy, didn't she? It was that smile that eventually strengthened her resolve. She wasn't Pink Diamond, there was absolutely no way that she would ever abandon someone like she'd been. She'd be a better friend than Pink ever could've hoped to be, a friend who always sought the best for those who cared about her. This gem wouldn't end up like her...

...she wouldn't allow it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> An idea I couldn't exactly get out of my head, so I put it here instead. 
> 
> Not exactly sure how far I'd like to go with this, but I'll give it some time and see where things go from there. I'm going into this one more blind than I usually am, but I feel confident that there's definitely some potential here. I'm not exactly sure of how I'm gonna handle the naming scheme, I've seen how other Steven Universe fics handle names and I'm not exactly sure if I'm gonna think up something new or just follow their examples. I'm definitely not sure what to call the New Spinel, seeing as identifying the both of them would get irritating if I don't. I have an idea, but any suggestions on what to call her would be appreciated. 
> 
> Anyway, hope you enjoy, any and all criticisms positive or negative are welcomed in full so leave a comment if you are so inclined to do. Like it? Hate it? Any ways you feel I could improve? Expectations for the next chapter? All are welcome and I will see you all in the next Installment of Leftovers.


	2. Name Games

Even months after coming here, Spinel still couldn't get over how different Homeworld was.

Stuck in the garden, she'd had six millennia to think back to her first days with Pink Diamond. Homeworld's architecture used to be similar to the garden... just with less plants. Now, almost everything looked so shiny. She was impressed just by how it looked back then, now she had to appreciate the sheer splendor in almost every direction. It made her wonder just how she'd react to it if she had seen it like this before, back when she was happier. Frowning, Spinel's eyes went down to the gloved hand clenched within her own, following it back to her starry eyed doppelganger who seemed to gasp and awe at every little thing around them. Spinel could only hope that her own reaction would've been something like that.

"Now then," Pink Pearl called back to them whilst leading them along one of the numerous walkways of Homeworld "We have more than enough time to take this slow and steady. To ease Spinel the Second into autonomy, we must first help her see the entertainment of others as just as rewarding as yours."

Spinel blinked before coming to a stop, "We aren't calling her that."

Pearl tilted her head to the side "Why? It seems like quite the accurate descriptor." she said with a smile "Given how much the Diamonds favor you, it seems sharing your title would be quite reputable."

"No!"

"Awe, why not?" 

They both looked back to Spinel the Second, who had stretched out Spinel's arm and was now using it as a jump rope "If we got the same name, then we could be Twin Spinels." her eyes went wide for a moment before she giggled "The Spin Twins!"

"No," Spinel shook her head "I might not be the smartest gem around, but if we had the same names then I feel like a couple identity issues would get a whole lot worst for me."

Pink Pearl approached the New Spinel and looked her over "Well what would you suggest we name her? Need I remind you that your naming policy is a little-"

"Woah woah woah!" Spinel waved a hand in front of her before nodding to her doppelganger "Not in front of her, Pinks. You really wanna take that smile away?"

Pink Pearl looked away with a knowing smile for a moment before gesturing towards the numerous gems going about their day around them, "Whatever you wish to call her, our first step should be finding her some friends."

Spinel followed Pearl's example and tried sizing up the gems around them. She was supposed to be good at getting laughs, so who looked like they were in the mood for a good laugh? They had a Nephrite ordering a Topaz duo to carry a large shiny cone for her. Spinel winced, maybe in her old days she would've tried invigorating their work day with a good round of eye-spy, but now she could only think about how annoying it would be if someone tried hanging out while she and Pearl were busy work-shopping a routine. There were two Peridots arguing over a limb enhancer. They seemed like they were getting a little heated, and all Spinel could think about was them turning that aggression on anyone who interrupted. They were supposed to make the New Spinel like making lots of new friends, not turn her away from them!

"Hey hey," a finger poked Spinel in the cheek, and she looked down to see the gem in question pouting as she leaned against her "you sure you don't wanna rethink the whole Spin Twins angle? I think it'd be a pretty snazzy tag line~!"

"No..." Spinel shook her head "And not just for me... I'm kinda in with the big crowd... If you share my name then everyone would just keep comparing you to me."

The New Spinel was starry eyed "That sounds amazing!"

"What? No!" Spinel shook her "Come on Spinsy, ya wanna go makin' your own story, right? Not just leech offa mine!"

"Is Spinsy my new name!?!" She bounced with excitement

"Wait no... I mean, maybe?" Spinel scratched her head "Come on, we're trying to help ya make friends here, right Pinks?"

She looked over to Pink Pearl, who was calmly watching them with an amused grin "If the naming issue is such a pressing matter, we are quite free to address it first, Lady Spinel."

"Right!" New Spinel spun away before pressing a finger to her lip in thought "So if my best friend doesn't want me having her name, how's about..?"

Before their very eyes, she shrunk down a little before gesturing to herself "Eh? Now I can be your Mini-Spinel!"

"You won't be able to hold that forever," Spinel pointed out whilst closing her eyes and shrugging, "trust me. I tried it while playing hide and seek once, limbs went all weird for a full fortnight."

Spinel's eyes shot wide open once she felt a tiny hand grabbing at her leg, and she looked down to find an even smaller Mini-Spinel scaling her.

"Ya sure?" Mini Spinel squeaked out whilst using her own stretched arm as a climbing harness "I could get used to this!"

Spinel plucked her off with her fingers before giving a quick shake of her finger "Normal you, now!"

With a tiny giggle, Mini Spinel stretched back into her regular size before immediately wrapping Spinel up in another hug "Oh please let's just go with the Spin Twins! It'll make us a package deal!"

Watching the two argue that title for a moment, Pink Pearl glanced away and gave a hum of thought, "Technically, no matter what name we give her, you could still use that title as it would be correct regardless."

The two paused at that, with the New Spinel gasping before tightening the hug, "Yes!" she declared before nuzzling Spinel and singing to herself "Spin Twins~ Spin Twins~"

"Pinks, No!" Spinel groaned as she tried to unsuccessfully slip out of the hug "Now I'll never hear the end of it!"

Pink Pearl giggled to herself before gesturing towards a nearby building, "Perhaps finding her some friends will make up for it?"

And so the search continued, with Pink Pearl leading the two of them across entire sections of the Homeworld Cityscape. While making sure that the New Spinel didn't wander off whilst gawking at their surroundings, Pink Pearl and Spinel evaluated numerous gems whilst trying to find one who didn't seem too busy. While the sight of them did lead several gems to look in their direction, most went about their business. Any eyes which remained on them were mostly due to the New Spinel's attempts to get Spinel to play with her. After several attempts she made do with using Spinel's arm to play by herself, twirling it about or using it as a jump rope again. Spinel didn't try to stop her, instead following Pink Pearl to the top of yet another building whilst glancing at gems critically.

It was only once Pink Pearl paused at the edge of that building's rooftop that Spinel noticed there weren't any potential friends around here.

Raising an Eyebrow, Spinel watched as Pink Pearl turned and smiled at her, "Why are we-?"

"Heads up!" was the only warning she got before the New Spinel leaped over her head with her arm still clutched in her gloves before diving off the edge of the roof with it. Spinel rolled her eyes before pulling back a little, her arm pulling taut as she approached the edge. Several dozen yards below, the New Spinel clung to her dangling hand. Giggling, she tugged on the arm in her grasp, "Hey! Throw down your other arm, Big Spin! I can make a swing!"

Spinel rolled her eyes "Why would I-? Wait... what did you-? We're the same height ya dingus!"

"Nu-uh!" New Spinel called back up "Whenever I see's ya, you always look so big!"

"That's because you're always hanging onto me!" Spinel tried deflecting before groaning and stretching her other arm down as well. Ignoring the cheer that Little Spin produced, Spinel looked to Pink Pearl with a sigh "Why are we here? There ain't no gems around here."

Pink Pearl nodded before looking down at her and shrugging "It's pretty cute seeing you get all defensive over her."

Spinel gave a quick shake of her head before frowning, "Excuse me?"

Pearl gestured down to Little Spin, who had successfully formed a swing out of Spinel's arms "Over her. You seem awfully sure that most of the options we've seen so far would be dangerous to her. It's quite admirable if not counterproductive."

"Woah there, Pinks. Maybe you could do me a solid and put the brakes on the assumptions." Spinel crouched low before giving her arms a little swing, much to the amusement of her charge "I just don't want her getting scared, a bad first game could leave a whole lotta damage, ya know?"

"Perhaps if it were some other gem," Pink Pearl folded her arms whilst looking away "but if my memory serves correct, I seem to recall a certain other Playtime Gem maintaining a smile even under the greatest of duress."

"Well that was kind of a while ago, Pinks." Spinel muttered "Back before we both got put on ice. But I get where you're coming from. Gotta let her do her thing and all that, I just..."

Looking away, Spinel thought for a moment "I just want her to have the best first gig she can... ya know? I don't want it all messy, friends gotta look out for each other."

Spinel could barely remember the first time she and Pink Diamond played. Every time she thought back to their happier moments just brought her right back to the Garden. It was something she'd lamented ever since she came to Homeworld. Seeing this other Spinel enjoy literally everything gave her some kind of idea of how it might've happened, but it just made her want to remember even more. There wasn't much she could do about that, but she was more than capable of giving this other Spinel a game worth remembering.

It was a nice thought, of Little Spin thinking back to this day and thanking her for making her first time playing so much fun. Spinel couldn't help giving a little giggle at the thought, but then she noticed the hand on her head. Looking up, she found Pink Pearl slowly rubbing her head.

"What are you-?"

"Sorry," Pearl pulled away with a smile "it's just that after seeing you fall into melancholic pondering so often I've figured some external comfort would help. If it's too distracting then-"

"No no, I didn't say stop." Spinel snickered as she looked back over the ledge "Just give a gal some warnin' before you go pattin' her on the head and stuff."

"Duly noted," Pink Pearl resumed her head rubbing "you know, if the issue is providing her an optimal first game, I'm fairly certain there's only one gem she'd really wish to play with right now, wouldn't you agree?"

Spinel's smile disappeared for a moment, watching the New Spinel use her arms as a swing eventually led her to sigh before pulling her back up. The New Spinel released a squeal of delight as she was practically hauled up the side of the building and into Spinel's grasp. Her smile was infectious, leading Spinel to sport one of her own as she writhed in her grasp, "Do it again, Big Spin!"

And like that the smile was gone, "Okay," Spinel lightly pushed her away "you might've gotten away with the Spin Twin thing, but I'm gonna put a firm 'No' on the whole Big Spin thing. Ya just gotta call me Spinel, okay?"

"But my name's Spinel." she pointed to herself with a chuckle

"Yeah but... whatever." Spinel shook her head "Look Spinsy, we've been at it a while-"

"So that IS my name!"

"-and I gotta admit." Spinel shrugged "I'm gettin' kinda bored."

Spinsy gasped in shock, but Spinel made a point to look away from her before she raised her hand "Yeah, right now I'm just feeling kinda worn out... need a break from all this looking."

"I know what to do!" Spinsy called out whilst jumping and trying to get Spinel's attention "Right here! I know!"

"If only there was something to do around here to pass the time and have fun." Spinel continued looking in every direction except her's, grin widening until she was hugged from behind and Spinsy's head stretched into view.

"I know what to do! Really!"

Spinel thought for a moment before snapping her fingers "You wanna play somethin' dontcha?"

"No I wanna play something!" Spinsy declared before blinking "Wait..."

Pink Pearl shook her head as Spinel burst into a fit of chuckles, "You didn't have to do it that way."

"Awe," Spinel reached up and squeezed Spinsy's cheeks "but look at the look on her face~!"

Spinsy released some more giggles as Spinel's hands pulled at her face, her arms tightening their grip on Spinel until she was released.

"Now how's about we enjoy some bouncing?" Spinel offered as she approached the edge of the building once more and looked over the gem-covered cityscape around them "Looks like we could get some nice air around here."

"Oh! How do we play that?" Spinsy asked before looking to Pink Pearl "How do I play?"

"Well, we never really had a name for it." Pink Pearl thought for a moment before tapping a finger to the side of her face "Lady Spinel would do it for the diamonds whenever she needed to get from one of their thrones to the other, but out here there are far more surfaces to use. Though I don't see how it could be considered a two-person game."

"Ah it'll be easy!" Spinel waved it off before jerking a thumb towards her back "Hop on and I'll show ya."

Pink Pearl looked around for a moment before raising a finger to herself "Me?"

"Well if me and her get our bounce on out here, I ain't about to leave you behind." Spinel shook her head "Get on, if I can carry a Diamond I can carry you, Pinks."

Pearl hesitantly placed her hands on Spinel's shoulders before raising an eyebrow "Wait, when did you-?"

Spinel spun towards Spinsy with Pearl now precariously clinging to her back, "Now then, do as I do and you'll be just great, kay?"

Spinsy nodded fervently before going wide-eyed at the sight of Spinel's legs stretching into the shape of spiral cone. Looking down at her own legs, she stretched as well, winding up with more a spring shape instead of a cone. Spinel didn't seem too bothered, waving it off with a "Good 'nuff," before pointing towards the Palace in the distance "now all ya gotta do is bounce back to the Palace as fast as ya can, and whoever gets there first wins."

"Is there a prize?" Spinsy bounced to her side "What is it?!?"

"Loser has to carry the winner for the rest of the day." Spinel declared

"Well that shouldn't be a challenge for you," Pink Pearl noted whilst adjusting her grip on Spinel's back "but even so, are you sure you'd be fine with keeping that up all day?"

"Come on Pinks, she barely comes up to your chest!" Spinel rolled her eyes before tightening her cone "Now are ya ready? 3...2...1..."

The New Spinel launched herself forward with a squeal of delight "Spinsy Away~!" she cheered whilst aiming her spring towards another building nearby.

"That's not your name!" Spinel shook her head before bouncing after her.

When one was as flexible as Spinel, coiling oneself into a spring-like shape and bouncing to her heart's content was practically second nature. Even if she wasn't known to do it outside too much, she couldn't help the butterflies which fluttered within as the wind passed through her hair. Soon their descent began, and Pearl wordlessly tightened her grasp as the ground rushed up towards them. Spinel's spring-like lower half took it in stride, coiling up briefly before launching them into the air again. Buildings roads and walkways alike passed under them as Spinel kept an eye on the other bouncy form maneuvering around the city.

"How you hanging back there, Pinks?" Spinel asked as Pearl's legs wrapped around her.

"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a tad un-"

Pearl's speech morphed into a small wince as they landed again, several flustered gems stumbling away before Spinel launched herself back into the air.

"c-comfortable." Pink Pearl finished once they were above most of the rooftops "But you are a professional so I shall temper my concerns."

"That's the spirit!" Spinel snickered as they bounced again, almost crashing into an Aquamarine who was flying by. 

"Hey Best Friend!"

Spinel landed atop a rooftop and glanced to the other edge of it where the New Spinel was twisting her arms into another spring "Watch this! I figured it out!"

She bounced onto her arms then onto her legs, the increased frequency of her bounces sending her to the next building in the blink of an eye. Spinel didn't miss the way Pink Pearl's grip tightened around her as she said "P-please don't try that."

"Ha! I'm a professional!" Spinel declared whilst bouncing to the edge of the building "_My_ cheap tricks are way more effective than that!"

She slung her arms towards the nearest building just as she bounced and sling shot her way over another series of buildings. Despite the effectiveness of her 'cheap tricks,' by the time they reached the Palace and landed on the balcony of Pink's room, they found the other Spinel already there and rolling around with the Pebbles.

Spinel uncoiled her legs as Pink Pearl shakily dismounted her, "A-Apologies," she said while carefully balancing herself "if you didn't have me hanging on you, then you probably would've won."

Spinel waved the thought off before entering the room and holding out her arms "So you won fair and square, get on over here."

The New Spinel's head shot up immediately before another smile split her face. She quite literally picked herself up and threw herself into Spinel's arms where she shifted a bit to get comfortable before shrinking down again, "Mini Spinsy!"

At that title, Spinel rolled her eyes before lifting Mini Spinsy so she could face her eye to eye "Look I'm not naming you that, just because I thought it up in passing doesn't mean I'm about to lock it to you like that."

"Technically," Pink Pearl garnered their attention as she steadied herself against a wall "she could simply change it whenever she wishes."

"But Spinsy sounds so nice!" Mini Spinsy complained before nuzzling against Spinel's shoulder "And my best friend came up with it, so it's about four times as good as the average name!"

Spinel shook her head, "Look-"

"How about Spinette?" Pink Pearl offered, an offering which Spinel was quick to jump at.

"There! Perfect," Spinel nodded before shifting the gem in question back into a more comfortable grasp "fits nice and sounds nice."

"Aw..." Spinette pouted as she crossed her arms "Spinsy sounded way cuter though..."

"Now that I can finally put the whole name thing aside, we can get back to the real lesson." Spinel looked to Pink Pearl, who nodded as she stood tall and projected images of numerous groups of gems from her pearl

"You'll be happy to know that I've kept track of every potential playmate we've seen today," she pointed to several of the images for emphasis " though it may be a tad harder to showcase her full abilities while nestled in your hold, I'm positive we can-"

"Ah, put that away, Pinks." Spinel strode towards her whilst carrying the giggling Spinette "We already had the perfect playmate for her."

Pink Pearl blinked at that before quickly cycling through the various images produced by her gem, "Apologies, Lady Spinel, I must have missed them during your race. If you give me a moment I'm sure I could find them."

"I'm talking about you, Pinks." Spinel interrupted while nodding down to the giggling gem "If there's anyone I can trust right now to give her the best time of day, that'd be you... no foolin'."

"Oh..." Pink Pearl covered her mouth to hide hints off a smile as she looked away "I'm flattered, Lady Spinel, but I must recommend someone else."

"Ya don't wanna play?" Spinette asked with a confused little tilt of her head

"No, it's just that I'm fairly certain I wouldn't be the most amusing playmate." Pearl gave a small laugh 

"P'shaw," Spinel snickered at her "Are you joking? With how helpful you are? This ain't the time to be playin' modest, Pinks. I'll pitch in, so what kinda things do you do for fun?"

Pink Pearl looked from Spinel to Spinette for a moment before giving another awkward little smile, "I'm... fairly certain I don't do those kinds of things."

That got both of their attention, as Spinel and Spinette both simultaneously said "Excuse me?"

"I'm much more particular to keeping myself busy so..." She raised a finger "Oh! I consider helping you with your routine to be quite entertaining."

Spinel frowned "And?"

"And... I have a marvelous time watching the Pebbles construct little cities."

The frown deepened, "And?"

"Giving the place a good clean once in a while is quite relax-"

"I can't believe what I'm hearing." Spinel turned away and shook her head "All this time, and I never even would've expected."

"Expected what, best friend?" Spinette asked

"It-it's really not that big of a deal." Pink Pearl tried to interject.

"She doesn't have anything fun to do!" Spinel winced at the thought "I've been with her for months now and I never even noticed..."

Spinette gasped at the revelation, much to Pink Pearl's dismay. She once more tried salvaging the situation "I believe aiding others has provided me more fun than-"

"We're fixing this." Spinel looked back to her with a determined flame in her gaze

"And we're fixing it right now."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since I had so much trouble deciding on a name I ended up centering a portion of the story around it. I was mostly using it to try out a bunch of names until I found one I felt I could roll with. Either way, it made chapter two easier to write than expected. But now that it's out of the way, I can focus on the part of the story I had in mind back when writing chapter one. I suppose this chapter helped me seg-way into the next plot line easier than if I just stated it at the front of the next chapter, so I suppose everything turned out for the best.
> 
> Anyway, hope you enjoy, any and all criticisms positive or negative are welcomed in full so leave a comment if you are so inclined to do. Like it? Hate it? Any ways you feel I could improve? Expectations for the next chapter? All are welcome and I will see you all in the next Installment of Leftovers.


	3. Remembering Fun

Pink Pearl sat and watched Spinel pace around the room with worry evident in her gaze, "You really don't have to-"

"Pinks, I will not go another day on this planet knowing one of my pals has gone without any kind of fun for who knows how long!" Spinel declared before reaching up and poking the gem who was riding her "Now help us brainstorm some fun!"

Spinette giggled before tightening her grip at the contact. Spinel still seemed determined to fulfill her end of their bet, so had been giving Spinette a piggy back ride while she tried aiding Pink Pearl, "Maybe... we could get a big ol' sphere full of goop and-!"

"If you say bounce it around other gems, she's not gonna go for it." Spinel shook her head as she continued pacing, "Plus the only good quality goop we got around here is that robonoid stuff and I can't get that junk outta my hair no matter what I do."

Spinel winced a bit as Spinette leaned forward and poked at her pigtails as if trying to confirm her statement, "Well what do other Pearls do for fun Spin-Spin?"

With a groan, Spinel looked back to deal with the latest of Spinette's many names for her when the rest of her sentence registered. Pausing, Spinel grinned before looking away "Actually, that's a pretty good idea."

"Oh we don't have to go bothering them." Pink Pearl tried dissuading them.

Despite her pleas, she found herself following them to a tucked away corner of the palace where a wide array of screens had been set up. Sitting in the center of the screens with a frown firmly planted on her face was Yellow Pearl, with Blue standing at her side looking over her shoulder.

"I'm not sure what you're talking about?" Blue Pearl murmured while looking down to Yellow Pearl, who scoffed.

"At approximately seven minutes into the last transmission, there was a frame that clipped for about point thirty three seconds." Yellow Pearl grumbled before quickly jabbing a finger towards one of the screens "See! There it is."

Blue shook her head, but before she could comment on Yellow's assertion they were both distracted by a "Hiya!" coming from the room's only entrance.

Spinette was practically bouncing on Spinel's back, leaning over her in order to eye the two Pearls excitedly, "Oh! Are they gonna join the next game?!?"

Spinel rubbed the back of her head "I dunno, maybe later?" she said before growing a determined look "Right now they're just supposed to help us-"

She couldn't finish before Yellow Pearl took note of the near-identical gem riding her, "Wait!" She ordered before shaking her head and growing wide eyed "What is this? Where did that come from and why!?!"

Before she could answer, Spinette stood upon her shoulders and bowed in an extravagant manner, "I am Big Spin's bestest friend ever! Know me as Spinsy, her closest and most luckiest Twin ever!"

Yellow's eyes shot to Spinel, who rolled her own before looking up "Come on, just stick with Spinette for me?"

Spinette looked down and met Spinel's gaze before pouting and sinking back into the previous piggy-back position, "Okay..." she buried her face into the back of Spinel's neck and nuzzled her "If that'll make you happy!"

With the matter settled, Spinel looked back to the two Pearl's before raising an eyebrow, "The Diamonds apparently found her." she explained before nodding to them "They didn't tell you two before they left?"

"The Diamonds are gone!?!" Both Yellow and Blue said together, with Yellow far more horrified by the news. She blinked several times before turning back to the screens and flipping through them "Why?!? My Diamond- I mean...Yellow Diamond never goes anywhere without telling me!"

Confusion growing on her features a bit more, Spinel looked back to Pink Pearl, "Wait, you didn't tell them either?"

Growing a tiny blush, Pink Pearl nodded, "Apologies, Lady Spinel. They had just given me Spinette's gem, so I found it imperative to have you informed immediately."

"I can't believe we could just lose track of her like that..." Yellow Pearl muttered before glancing over to them "So let me get this straight. The Diamonds left for some reason or other, but couldn't take their favorite performer?"

"Because of her," Blue pointed to Spinette "right?"

"Yep yep!" Spinette chirped

Yellow massaged her eyes before leaning back in her seat, "So besides the belated information, what exactly do you need from us?"

"What do Pearls do for fun?" Spinel asked

Yellow Pearl seemed to do a double take, "Excuse me?"

"Oh!" Blue Pearl immediately pulled one of the screens away and tapped at it for a moment "After we were given reign over the Palace's broadcasts, I've been able to draw plenty of pictures of Yellow having fun with her work."

Upon seeing the drawing of herself, Yellow Pearl smirked before turning back to her own screens "As impressive as the subject matter is," she gave a small cough into her hand before growing a stern look "I wouldn't call my job 'having fun'. It was an express order from my Diamond- I mean, Yellow Diamond. As such, I work at this task with efficiency and effort."

"Even so," Blue Pearl enlarged the face of her drawing "when you're feeling really confident in your work, you get this prideful smile that just says so much with so little."

Unable to counter that without stuttering, Yellow turned on Spinel with a hand to her head, "Why didn't you just ask your own Pearl?"

Pink Pearl gave a nervous little grunt "That's not-" 

"She doesn't have fun!" Spinette wailed before crying into Spinel's hair, "She told us she doesn't do that stuff!"

"What?" Blue Pearl seemed perplexed "What about that... that thing you did with your Diamond back then?"

Pink Pearl winced before shrugging "I'm fairly certain I have no idea what you're talking about." she noted, only for Blue Pearl to tap at her gem.

"No... I could've sworn you did that... that thing with her." Blue thought hard "I can't really remember what you two called it, but I remember you laughing all the time back then."

Spinel's eyes narrowed, "Excuse me?"

"But that's impossible!" Spinette snickered whilst waving her off and jerking a thumb towards Pink Pearl "She told us that she doesn't do fun things, so she must not do fun things, right?"

"But it was like..." Blue Pearl mimed something with her hands, trying to put an image to the missing word. 

"Oh!" Spinette leaned forward again "Is it... digging?"

"No... Maybe? No it was something else." Blue tried miming that 'something else'

"Raining!?!" Spinette was gobsmacked "Can Pearls turn into rain?"

"Of course we can't!" Yellow Pearl declared before looking to Blue and frowning "She's obviously referring to the act of guiding rivers along certain paths through-"

"No." Blue shook her head before trying a different motion.

As the three continued trying to identify what exactly Blue Pearl was miming, Spinel stretched her neck around to look at Pink Pearl, "Yo Pinks, what's all this about you havin' some kinda fun that you're not tellin' me?"

"I-It's been so very long since I've interacted with Pink Diamond." She said while clasping her hands and nodding towards her fellow Pearls "I really don't know what she's implying I could've done."

Spinel's head stretched over and looked her up and down with a raised eyebrow "You sure? Ya never struck me as the type to forget stuff, Pinks." she murmured before locking eyes with her "I mean, if you just don't wanna tell me then-!"

"Of course not, Lady Spinel!" Pink Pearl shook her head "If only I could remember what she suggests... I must beg your forgiveness."

"What?" Spinel stretched over a hand to wave that thought away "No! If you can't recall then I guess we just gotta jog your memory."

Saying that, Spinel thought for a moment and groaned, "If you did it with Pink Diamond, I bet the other Diamonds would know what it was."

Pink Pearl smiled before reaching out and rubbing the top of her head, "Perhaps, but I'm sure whatever they left to do is fairly important to them, it'd be a shame to call them back on a hunch."

* * *

"I can't... believe, that you just left all of this here." Yellow Diamond grumbled as she pinched the bridge of her nose.

"In my defense," White Diamond raised a finger "It wasn't _functioning_."

It was a planet in Facet 7Y13, a planet rich in resources that had been set up for a full Kindergarten treatment. It had several of them set up in a few especially nutrient-rich areas, enough to have the entire planet forming gems in only a few years. It had been listed with numerous other Kindergarten planets to be decommissioned after the fall of the Diamond Authority. Yellow Diamond could give credit where credit was due. Once White mentioned they should check up on this place, Yellow had expected the entire place to have been reduced to a barren wasteland. Nope, its injectors had been deactivated like all the others. It just so happened that they'd all been left there collecting dust ever since.

"Steven asked that the kindergartens be shut down immediately!" White Diamond had explained "And so I acquiesced and had them shut down."

"But not a week after that he asked the Injectors be removed from Colonies undergoing decommission!" Yellow tried explaining

"Yes," White nodded "this was already considered decommissioned."

"And you didn't think to retroactively apply such standards to colonies like these?"

"It was a _very_ busy week."

And so, Yellow had to call in a team from a nearby moon base to start removing the injectors. It was a process that, while not exactly difficult, still irked Yellow Diamond for how all this perfectly good tech had just been left out here doing nothing. Standing upon a cliff, the three had watched the Peridots get to work, using their limb enhancers to flit about, carefully slicing the legs of the injectors and having Amethysts moving them into large piles. While the Peridots did fine supervising the operation, Yellow couldn't help but call out instructions now and then. While the Peridots seemed more than enthusiastic to follow her orders, White Diamond merely laughed.

"Something funny?" Yellow asked as she glanced to White, who was reclining along the edge of the cliff.

"Just that you still act as though you're in command." White smiled "The days of the Diamond Authority are gone, Yellow. Let them work, we have all this time to relax and enjoy this..."

She waved a hand whilst looking around, flinching only when her hand landed on a nearby bush. The moment she pulled away, the excessively sticky tree sap had half of the bush tear off and cling to her palm "...Beautiful...Life..." she sighed before attempting to pick the bush from her hand.

"Even without the Authority, Gems such as these should understand the logic of my suggestions." Yellow nodded to herself "Besides, its not exactly easy to relax whilst thinking of all the other things we'll have to deal with on account of your 'forgetfulness'"

"Come now," White had another portion of the sticky bush stuck to her other hand now, and nodded behind them while unsuccessfully trying to remove it "There's no reason to let this little road bump ruin our trip, just look at Blue."

They looked back to Blue Diamond, who was sitting upon a rather large rock and rubbing her fingers along a nearby tree. As she felt the bark beneath her finger tips, she spoke to herself "She'll be fine, she has the Pearls with her. She doesn't need us all the time, but oh I bet she'd love to swing around these trees and hop across the ravines."

"That doesn't exactly seem like relaxing." Yellow noted "More like intense concern."

"Nonsense," White turned and called to her "Blue! Come over and watch with us!"

It snapped Blue out of her thoughts, and soon she stood and strode over to them, "Apologies, I just can't help thinking about how Spinel is faring back home."

"You'll get to see her once we're done." Yellow commented "I'm sure she'll have plenty of gags to surprise us with once we return."

"Besides, she has the Replacement to play with." White pointed out before attempting to flick more of that sticky bush from her hands, "So there's no way she could get bored."

"U-Um?"

The three Diamonds immediately looked towards the voice, finding that one of the Peridots had made her way over to them and was now staring up at them. Under the curious gaze of all three Diamonds, she froze for a moment until Yellow asked, "What is it?"

"Peridot C-Cut 4OI!" the Peridot introduced herself before shakily pointing back towards the crevice "W-we have determined that the complete removal of these injectors will take approximately 4-5 hours not accounting for potential interruptions."

"Hm," Yellow turned back to the others "Then taking into account the other kindergartens, this planet should be clear within the week. Should give us a good timetable to figure where our attention is needed elsewhere."

Briefly looking back to 4OI, Yellow Diamond nodded "That will be all."

"Yellow..." Blue Diamond said carefully.

Yellow looked at her for a moment before catching on and nodding, "Oh... of course." reaching down, she held out her hand towards the Peridot "Thank you for your efforts."

With a single finger, she gave 4OI a very brief, appreciative pat on the head before standing tall once more and turning back to her fellow Diamonds. She didn't notice the intense blush she left on 4OI's face, nor the smirk she wore as she swaggered back over to several other Peridots who glared at her.

"Should thanking Gems really be this easy?" Yellow asked White and Blue, "I didn't even offer new Limb Enhancers for their service."

"Oh but did you see how happy she looked?" Blue asked "It was adorable."

"What is it that Steven says?" White Diamond wondered while smirking at Yellow "Something about doing the right thing being more than rewarding enough?"

"I can understand that in relation to us, we're supposed to be learning a lesson after all." Yellow gestured to herself before nodding to the working gems below "But I refuse to believe that Gems everywhere would subscribe to a philosophy of nil returns, especially ones such as mine."

The three went silent for a moment, watching as yet another Injector was lowered to the Amethysts below. Their quiet over-watch was interrupted only when Blue muttered, "She'll be safe even if they take a walk outside of the Palace...right?"

"I'm positive she's doing fine, Blue." Yellow Diamond rolled her eyes, "She's probably having the entire Palace hooping and hollering to the hills at this point."

* * *

Spinel paced in the middle of the throne room. Since neither Yellow Pearl or Spinette could decipher Blue Pearl's Cryptic charades, she'd decided to go to the one place that Pink Diamond had always associated with fun. Even through her own painful mesh of memories, Spinel knew that Pink Diamond was all about throwing those fancy Balls. They were events that everyone even back then could associate with fun. If she and Pink Pearl had some special kind of activity they did together, Spinel was certain they could jog her memory where such events often took place.

Pausing in her pacing, Spinel looked towards the thrones. Pink Pearl stood before them with a hand to her mouth, humming in thought. 

"Anything?" Spinel asked

"I'm... sure I'll get there." Pink Pearl replied before resuming her intense examination.

Spinel sighed but a pat from her shoulder brought her attention up to Spinette, who was still riding her, "Wanna see how many times we can wrap ourselves around those pillars?"

"I'm sorta supposed to be carrying you for the rest of the day," Spinel mentioned before eyeing the pillars "Though I'm sure we could still probably do it, the idea of us getting all tangled up together isn't the most reassuring thought."

Spinette's eyes widened with enthusiasm, "But that sounds amazing! Would I get to walk and you control the arms?"

"Its not fusion," Spinel reached up to poke at Spinette's cheek "I'm thinking all of our limbs tied up in knots and Pinks having to spend the rest of the day untying us."

"I'm still not hearin' any downsides~!"

Spinel glanced back to Pink Pearl, "Is anything comin' back to you yet?"

"Well, I of course remember being right at My Diamond's side while introductions were set in place." Pink Pearl noted "Watching all the other gems dance and then being ordered to dance for my Diamond's entertainment."

"So you dance?" Spinel asked

"Well, of course." Pearl nodded "Though we aren't specifically designed to entertain such as you Spinels, Pearls often are able to perform dances to serve our owners."

"Yeah yeah, but you like doing it, right?" 

"I mean, it is very relaxing-"

Spinel's hand stretched over and clasped Pink Pearl's "Then that's it!" Spinel declared while stretching the rest of her over "Ya like dancing!"

Spinette frowned before putting a finger to her lips, "Dancin' don't really seem like what Blue Pearl was tryin' to get at though."

Spinel reached back before pulling Spinette off of her "We'll work with it," she said before cradling her "you can dance, right?"

Spinette nodded, and suddenly found herself dangling before Pink Pearl. Pouting, she called back "Thought you was supposed to be carryin' me all day?"

"For a whole day, yes." Spinel smirked "How's about we say you can cash in the rest of that time later? Whenever ya want me to hold you all close and stuff, you can just cash in the rest of that day, hm?"

Spinette went wide eyed at the suggestion before nodding furiously. Her feet stretched to the ground and she wrapped her arms around Pink Pearl, "Okie-Dokie, let's dance!"

Spinel winced as Spinette started spinning and swinging Pink Pearl about with a bright smile, her feet doing a tap routine as she whistled to an unheard beat. Spinel recognized this style of dance, it was the type of dancing she would do with Pink Diamond back in the day. Seeing it recreated so perfectly here brought her back to those times, stretching tall so she and Pink could throw each other around, spin and twirl to their hearts content. It was always after she'd held a Ball, she loved dancing wildly with Spinel after those events. She'd laugh and cheer and swing Spinel to and fro, but Spinette's partner wasn't laughing. Pink Pearl was obviously unprepared for the wild manner of moving, doing the best she could just to keep from falling over as Spinette literally danced around her. She didn't say anything, though, her full focus being on keeping up with Spinette. But Spinel knew from the gasps of concern and occasional winces that she wasn't having fun.

"Aw, stop stop!" Spinel waved her hands as she approached them before stretching a hand over and slipping Pink Pearl out of Spinette's grasp "She ain't that type o' dancer Spinette, she's more into that...uh, a demonstration Pinks?"

Pink Pearl nodded before folding her hands and proceeding to gracefully dance away with careful strides of her long legs.

"Oooh," Spinette awed before grinning at Spinel "So you can do that, too?!?"

Spinel immediately grimaced, "Well... I mean, I ain't no Pearl but... well-"

Spinette shoved her towards Pink Pearl, "Show me!"

Pearl caught her easily, and Spinel had just enough time to glare back at Spinette before she felt hands slipping into her own. Looking back up to Pink Pearl, she muttered "I mean, I ain't ever put it into action but..."

"Its okay," Pink Pearl noted "if you allow me to lead then I can do most of the work, Lady Spinel."

Spinel grew a nervous grin at that before nodding. Closing her eye, Pearl's grip tightened a bit before she began. Spinel kept up at first, though had to stretch her legs and feet out of the way of Pink Pearl's as they moved. Glancing to the side, Spinel saw Spinette watching them with rapt attention, and winced a bit when she felt Pink Pearl's hand sliding up her arm to her shoulder. At first, Pink Pearl's movements were fairly easy to follow. All Spinel had to do was stretch to keep their gazes locked whenever she opened her eye. Seeing the height difference as slowing her down, Spinel stretched her torso a bit to keep them at eye-level. Whether Pink Pearl noticed her difficulty keeping up or not, she didn't say so. Instead she simply allowed the momentum of her movements to carry her into Spinel's grasp. She gave a twirl, pressing her back against Spinel's gem before pausing in her arms. 

She looked back at Spinel "Would you like me to instruct Spinette in my methods of movement?"

Spinel thought for a moment, "Nah... I'm the professional here!" Spinel declared, metaphorically and figuratively puffing out her chest proudly "You just focus on having fun, leave the educatin' to the veteran."

Pink Pearl merely nodded before giving another twirl. Spinel stretched a hand over her head to twirl her before glancing to Spinette, "Now see here, it's all about keeping track of where her legs are goin', got it?"

Spinette nodded with so much enthusiasm that Spinel felt bad. She knew darn well that this was not how a graceful dance was supposed to be had. The whole thing was her basically making sure she didn't interrupt Pearl's momentum. Stretching her limbs out of the way while Pearl did all of the work. Still, this was far better than what Spinette tried. At least this way her partner could enjoy herself. That was what Spinels were for after all, making their friend smile and have fun. 

Pink Pearl leaned back, encouraging Spinel to stretch forward to hold her up as she tilted her head back and rose a leg along Spinel's side. Seeing the small smile etched into Pink Pearl's features, Spinel couldn't help but crack a grin of her own. The sound of clapping brought her attention back to Spinette, who continued cheering for them with a mile-wide smile.

Yeah... making smiles.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again changed up the chapter mid-way through. Had a lot more planned for it, but then I realized that the chapter could get bloated if I kept all of my original ideas in. The other stuff's getting moved to the next chapter. I felt as though doing it like this would keep the story from feeling cramped, make time flow a little better. I thought about moving over the Diamond scene as well but found it fit rather well in the middle after edits. 
> 
> Anyway, hope you enjoy, any and all criticisms positive or negative are welcomed in full so leave a comment if you are so inclined to do. Like it? Hate it? Any ways you feel I could improve? Expectations for the next chapter? All are welcome and I will see you all in the next Installment of Leftovers.


	4. Your Other Friends

What started as Spinel trying to find Pink Pearl's old methods of fun turned into the both of them trying to teach Spinette how to dance. Spinel figured it was an understandable progression. They were trying to teach her how to have fun with others, and dancing was apparently one of Pink Pearl's only methods of fun, so learning how to do it properly seemed like an essential.

Spinel found that Spinette was actually fairly quick on her feet when it came to memorizing moves, imitating Pink Pearl's graceful moves far more easily than Spinel herself did. Though she felt a modicum of pride at that, it soon became apparent that Spinette simply got bored of such movements and would devolve back into her wackier movements every time. It was aggravating, especially since multiple times Spinel had to stop them before Pink Pearl got too frazzled. It was around the second day that Spinel had shifted their goal to teaching Spinette to control her impulses. Despite what Pink Pearl claimed, Spinel knew for a fact that she had better things to do than get spun around wildly for hours on end, and so Spinel had switched with her to try and get them back on track.

Spinette was downright bursting with glee at the prospect of dancing with her. Spinel supposed she should've expected that, she was her best friend after all. Whereas she struggled to match Pink Pearl's fluid movements, Spinel found that dancing with Spinette was more about keeping her in check. So excited Spinette was to dance with her that she'd bounce and spin much more than she did with her other partner. It became a challenge of keeping hold of her, with Spinel having to keep them grounded the majority of the time. While they danced, she caught sight of Pink Pearl holding back laughter on the sidelines. It made Spinel's cheeks burn, but she kept her attention on the gem in her arms. And after a few hours of this, one of her greatest fears came true.

They got tied up.

She supposed it was inevitable, what with two sets of long stretchy limbs moving together in such a wild manner, but perhaps a better way to describe it was a piece of them got tied up. As the second day drew to a close, yet another one of Spinette's sideways swings had caught Spinel at just the right momentum and left them tied together by a leg. Spinel had panicked immediately, stopping the lesson and having Pink Pearl untie their legs as quickly as possible. She didn't know what it was, but the thought of being tied to Spinette scared her. Spinel liked moving, it was something that her gems were designed for. But after her stint at the Garden, Spinel couldn't handle the thought of not being able to move. It usually didn't show up too often, as she could counter this fear by just tapping a toe or tugging at her pigtails. As long as she could move something, she'd generally be able to ignore that stinging feeling of anxiety welling up inside. But having an entire leg completely knotted to Spinette's was just a tad too far for her.

Seeing the panic in her eyes, Spinette had immediately begun trying to calm her down with shadow puppets while Pink Pearl untied them. It didn't exactly take long to get them untied, but Spinel had to rethink how exactly they were going to to go about these dance lessons. Though Pearl seemed intent on taking her place again, Spinel ended up considering other alternatives. From the third day onward they enlisted the help of the other Pearls. With the Diamonds still gone on their mysterious trip, their Pearls had time on their hands that Spinel thought could be best utilized helping her. Though Yellow Pearl had scoffed at the idea, Blue Pearl was on board almost immediately. Perhaps she wanted something to do while Yellow was having one of her Obsessive Editing episodes, maybe she really wanted to dance. Spinel didn't know, and she wasn't the type to go asking. 

Surprisingly, Blue Pearl actually had more success with Spinette than either of her previous partners. 

It started as usual, with Blue trying to lead Spinette in a slow groove. Spinel had watched apprehensively, already seeing Spinette's moves get faster as time went on. Pink Pearl had to stop her from preemptively stopping them. Even as Spinette begun swinging Blue around and stretching her limbs to move faster, Spinel just tightened her stance and watched with baited breath. And then Blue Pearl did something that Spinel hadn't been ready for...

...she kept up.

The way she gasped in surprise the first time Spinette twirled her almost led Spinel to call for a time out. But Blue Pearl recovered and simply sped up to match her partner. She let Spinette toss her about, moving to lean into the tosses and twirls with footwork that left her releasing small laughs each time. Spinel had to do a double take, as Spinette reacted to that laughter almost immediately. Giggling, she picked up the pace in response to her partner's joy. It might not have been the graceful moves that Pink Pearl tried, but it was a definite improvement from the awkward wrestling she and Spinel would often devolve into. Watching the two of them made Spinel feel a little embarrassed by her own attempts, but a single hand on her shoulder brought her attention to Pink Pearl.

"I suppose you could say that the two of us just couldn't keep up with her." Pink Pearl noted with a glance in her direction.

Spinel turned back to Spinette and Blue, watching them dance for a moment before sighing, "Yeah... guess you're right." she said quietly before chuckling and looking away "Sorry Pinks, we were supposed to be letting you have fun and stuff... things just kinda turned out like this."

She gestured forward, only for Pink to give a pleased hum, "Lady Spinel, I'll state right here and now that I've had more fun in the weeks since your arrival than I have in the last few thousand years." 

"Aw don't ya go tryin' that with me," Spinel rolled her eyes, "Ya know I don't count them Diamond Years for either of us. I'm saying its Era three, and gems are supposed to be enjoying freedom and liberty and stuff. Its kinda hard for me to think you're enjoying it when ya only go on about me all the time."

"I'm sorry, Lady Spinel." Pink Pearl pressed a hand to her mouth, "I do enjoy my time with you tremendously, I just can't seem to express that in a manner you'll find satisfying."

Spinel frowned at that, eyes flitting back to Spinette and Blue Pearl as they laughed and danced together. Spinette's moves were more wild and chaotic than Spinel had ever seen them before, and yet Blue Pearl just kept moving along with them. Glancing back to Pink Pearl, Spinel finally sighed and nudged her, "Then just don't worry about it Pinks... you do you." she said before casually tapping a toe against the ground, "Half the fun of making people smile is figuring out what makes them happy... so if that... cleaning and helping stuff really does make you happy... I guess I just gotta figure it out so to speak."

Pink Pearl folded her hands together and nodded with a small smile, "Thank you Lady Spinel."

Hours after their dance lesson ended, Spinel was still trying to figure out the appeal of cleaning. Once they returned to her room, Pink Pearl had almost immediately begun inspecting the room for anything she needed to tidy. She occasionally glanced in Spinel's direction, only for Spinel to give her what she hoped was an encouraging nod. Leaning against one of the Pebble towers erected in the middle of the room, Spinel watched Pink Pearl with a curious expression. A finger poked at her cheek with a humored "Boop!" and Spinel glanced to the hand before it stretched back to Spinette who was crouched beside another tower.

"Come on, Spinel!" she cooed before nodding towards the Tower "If ya stretch your arm like this, they use it as a walkway!"

She eyed her other arm, which had stretched between the two pebble towers. A number of pebbles were carefully moving along it to traverse the buildings quickly. Spinette openly marveled at their simple ingenuity, and Spinel couldn't stop a smirk from forming on her face as well. She wasn't about to stretch an arm over, the chance of it even coming close to tying with Spinette's bringing her back to earlier that day. Instead she settled against the structure, "So I guess Blue's gonna be ya new dance partner from now on. Whenever Yellow's too busy for her I'm sure we could get her to groove with ya."

"Hm?" Spinette looked up before pouting "I thought you was gonna dance with me again."

Spinel winced, "Don't ya like dancing with her, though? Looked to me like you two were having way more fun than when you tried it with me."

"Now that doesn't matter at all!" Spinel stood, the pebbles gripping her arm as it shifted with her movement "Of course I'd want to dance with my best friend most of all. You're just amazing!"

"Even so..." Spinel looked away with a blush "You ought to get used to having fun with others. Some days I might not be there to play with-"

"Nope." Spinette shook her head

"Excuse me?" 

Spinette sat back and leaned against the tower again with a giggle, "You're my best friend in the whole wide universe, so I have to be there whenever you want to have fun. No ifs, ands, or buts about it buddy!"

Spinel sighed, she'd known something like this would come up sooner or later. Steeling herself for a conversation she wasn't entirely sure she was ready to have, she gave a weak smile, "Well... say if I was going on a trip for the Diamonds or somethin'. Let's just say I got caught in an asteroid field and got poofed out in space. It might take me a long time to get back so-"

"Don't matter, I'da been on the ship with ya." Spinette shrugged before putting a finger to her chin in thought "We'd probably go adventurin' through the cosmos together to find our way back home!"

"Yeah... okay, but what if you weren't on the ship with me?" Spinel asked

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"Because maybe you were hanging out with your other friends and-"

"Hey now," Spinette's pouted deepened "I'd always have time for you, bestie. Let's not get crazy here."

Spinel slumped against the tower with a groan, "Ugh," she leaned a cheek against the structure as several pebbles descended some stairs and curiously poked at her "At least tell me you like making other friends... right?"

"Of course! Them Pearl gals are real swell!"

"Then wouldn't having a bunch of other friends be even more swell?" 

Spinette paused at that, eyes blinking a few times before she pulled her arm back and slapped her palms against her cheeks, several pebbles still happily clinging to her limbs, "That's... that sounds amazing!" she declared before giggling to herself, "Oh geez, hope they've got a real hankerin' for my material."

Smiling at that, Spinel gave herself a figurative pat on the back for gaining some ground. Leaning back with a pebble still hanging on her cheek, she waved off Spinette's concerns "Ah they'll love ya, gems like us are built for spreading smiles."

Suddenly Spinette's overwhelming excitement was turned on her, "Woah... That must mean you've made like a majillion friends, right?!?"

And like that Spinel's confidence shattered as her eyes wandered "What? Oh yeah, I mean... not that many... but the ones I got are close as heck with me."

"Not many gems would be able to make companions of the Diamonds so quickly." Pink Pearl spoke up from the other corner of the room "I'd say that puts Lady Spinel near the top in terms of companionship."

Spinel's eyes snapped towards her, "Well-!" she quickly glanced at Spinette's awed expression before tugging on her pigtail "I mean, I've kinda been out of practice..."

"You have GOT to show me!" Spinette pleaded as she threw herself to Spinel's side with her hands clasped "Seeing you in action's got to be the most mind-boggling thing ever!"

Spinel winced before turning to Pink Pearl, who seemed to think on the matter a bit before raising a finger, "She does seem to try mimicking your actions. Perhaps showing her how a professional Gem goes about making companions will inspire her to follow suit?"

Spinel looked around for a moment while giving a few more tugs on her pigtail. After locking eyes with the over-excited Spinette one more time, Spinel paused in her movements before grinning, "Yeah okay," she said with a shrug "I'll show ya how it's done."

After a celebratory cheer from Spinette, the trio set out from the palace, with Spinel leading Spinette by the hand. Pink Pearl followed the duo diligently while curiously looking at the numerous gems they passed. After they passed several buildings, she spoke up "It's quite nice seeing you leave the palace more often, Lady Spinel."

"Hm?" Spinel glanced back at her.

"It's just that until Spinette joined us you would spend all your time in the castle trying to perform for the Diamonds." Pink Pearl noted "But now it seems like we're heading out every other day. It's quite refreshing. So are you just going to find your future friend by chance? Or do you have a gem in mind?"

"Oh oh!" Spinette leaned against Spinel's back and pointed with her free hand to a large gem crouched over a hole beside a thin tower "Is it that gem! Is it them! Ya gonna befriend them?"

"Schorls were known as some of the more relaxed builder gems." Pink Pearl noted

"Yeah..." Spinel looked away before moving on "I'm thinking we start her off with someone simpler... ya know?"

Pink Pearl folded her arms behind her back, "Very well," she said as she followed "so you _do_ have someone in mind."

Spinel turned the corner of another walkway "You could say that." she pointed to a spherical structure protruding from the ground "Voila!"

Though Spinette immediately looked it over with a coo of interest, Pink Pearl's eye widened "Wait... Rubies?"

A number of the short red gems could be seen in the area around the structure, spread out in small groups which included a few other gems. Spinel's smile spread wide at the sight of them as she began approaching.

"Yeah! Even back in my day I can remember just loving them whenever I saw 'em." she declared, watching two wrestle while another laughed "They're rough like a Jasper but tiny like a sapphire. Oh! I remember that a long time ago I thought it'd be fun to have a whole lot of them as pals."

One of the wrestling Rubies managed to get on top of her opponent, barking for the third Ruby to start counting as she struggled to maintain her position. Spinel found herself sighing at the sight until a tiny cough brought her attention to Pink Pearl.

"Lady Spinel, I agree that gems such as these may be easy to befriend; especially due to their excitability." Pink Pearl looked over them for a moment before frowning "But I must request that we quickly vacate the area for the moment."

"What?" Spinette pouted "But Big Spin was just about to lay down some serious fun times on them!"

"Yeah, what's gotten into you all of a sudden, Pinks?" Spinel raised an eyebrow "You got something against Rubies? You should've told me before-"

"Raaggghhh!!!" 

The war cry came too late for Spinel to react to the oncoming gem which lunged into her and dragged her to the ground. Spinel had to reach up and take hold of her head to keep her eyes from spinning as a small foot planted itself on her gem. Quirking an eyebrow in confusion, she looked up to see one of the Rubies standing atop her with a glare in her one eye.

"So!" she cried out while clenching a hand up into a fist "The Traitor's spy comes here herself to silence me!!!" 

"Lady Spinel!" Pink Pearl called out

"Woohoo!!!" Spinette cheered whilst raising her arms "Big Spin's already got their games down pat!"

The Ruby's declaration didn't go unnoticed, as several other Rubies and gems gathered around.

"Spy? I ain't no spy," Spinel couldn't help but laugh at the idea "I'm kinda supposed to be loud and playful, not exactly inconspicuou-hrk!"

She flinched as the Ruby's foot pressed harder on her gem, "Don't make fun of me, they say that that traitor Diamond sent you to keep tabs on her sisters!" taking a breath, the Ruby turned her gaze to the distance "I knew that speaking out against the traitor's dumb peace policies would put a target on my back, knew that she didn't forgive me for trying to break her, that her support was just a ruse!"

"Hey, check it out!" one of the watching Rubies nudged another one "Eyeball's at it again!"

Spinel didn't miss how the Ruby atop her pressed her foot against her gem harder at that. She growled while reached up to the gem that made up her other eye as it began glowing.

"Woah woah!" Spinel shook her hands in front of her before giving an awkward smirk "Ya mean Steven right? Steven would never trust me to be a spy, I mean I tried to kill him and-!"

"Tried to kill the Traitor?" Ruby kneeled atop Spinel's gem, making her squeak as the smaller gem looked her over "But why would he send his failed assassin to the-!" 

Her eye widened a bit as she stood up and gasped "The Diamonds! He must've tasked them to watch you! Just like they've been watching me!"

"D-Do ya mind gettin' off the-?" Spinel's question ended in a wheeze as Eyeball sat on her gem and looked her over.

"That means you're a soldier of the Empire like me and her!" she laughed before narrowing her eye and looking away "When the Diamonds left, yeah... you must've escaped around then."

"I really didn't-"

Eyeball pointed her finger at her before jerking a thumb towards the sphere structure "Follow me! There are eyes everywhere, it's too dangerous to speak here!"

She hopped off of Spinel, who wasted no time in leaning up and brushing her Gem off. No sooner did she stand when a pair of arms wrapped around her as Spinette pressed against her side, "You're even better than I imagined! Ya barely had to say a word to her and she's already inviting you over!"

Spinel gave a shaky nod before glancing to Pink Pearl "Pinks, mind fillin' me in on what exactly just happened?"

"Sorry Ma'am, if I had known you'd seek out Rubies to befriend I would've warned you." Pink Pearl bowed before gesturing to Eyeball as she gestured for them to follow her "That particular Ruby's been raising a fuss ever since the dissolution of the Diamond Authority, making wild claims about Rose Quartz brainwashing everyone and using the cover of peace to take over."

"Hey!" Eyeball shouted to them before gesturing into the structure 

To Pink Pearl's surprise, Spinel began following, "Lady Spinel, you're not planning on going with her, right?"

"I mean, she thinks I'm just like her." Spinel gave a lop-sided grin "Maybe I can convince her to come back to the palace before she starts raising a ruckus, right? Maybe get someone who can deal with her?"

Spinette merely giggled and ran after them, but Pink Pearl gave a sigh before rushing to Spinel's side "The Diamonds already tried dealing with her, but Steven was adamant she be allowed to speak her mind. Something about an 'open discourse' being the simplest path to compromise."

"Well Steven is a lot smarter about these things than I am," Spinel muttered as she followed Eyeball into the building "so maybe I should try it out, ya know?"

"Someone better than my Spin-Spin at making friends?" Spinette seemed unconvinced "Nu-uh, I ain't buyin' it."

"I-If you say so, Lady Spinel..." Pink Pearl said

Despite her apprehension, the structure within was far from ominous. Groups of rubies were all over, many of which Spinette couldn't help but point at as she followed right behind Spinel. For her part, Spinel kept her eyes on the gem leading them, Eyeball would occasionally glare at some of the other Rubies, and others just moved out of her way automatically. It had been a long time since Spinel had had to make friends, and whatever this was with Eyeball was based off a series of misunderstandings. Even so, she found herself too curious about this rowdy Ruby. Perhaps it was the idea that she was with someone else who had tons of beef with Steven before. Of course, the Diamonds were quite open and apologetic about their tussles with Steven and the Crystal Gems in the past but, well... they were Diamonds. They were kind of hard to relate to by nature.

Whatever it was, Spinel followed the Ruby throughout the structure until she stopped before a door which slid open as she approached. She held it open for Spinel, but raised a hand as Pearl and Spinette approached "Either of you try killin' Rose Quartz?"

"Well..." Pink Pearl patted the tips of her fingers together "I can't say that I have... at least, not while I was conscious."

"I don't even know who that is!" Spinette shrugged

Eyeball turned to Spinel "I'm not letting them in here."

"Um," Spinel rubbed the back of her neck as she stepped out "Okay Pinks, this shouldn't take long so you and Spinette can just wai-"

She looked to Spinette and her words almost immediately died in her throat. She stood there for a moment, staring wide-eyed at Spinette as Eyeball raised an eyebrow. Pink Pearl also tilted her head as she noticed one of Spinel's hands shaking a bit. Spinette seemed none the wiser, looking Spinel over with a joyful smile, "Got somethin' to say, Bestie?"

Spinel blinked at her words, mouth opening and closing a few times as she tried and failed to speak. Eventually she clenched one of her hands into a fist and brought it to her gem, "I... I need to do something really really quick..." she said "But I can't bring you with me, so while I'm... I'm... Gone... I want you to try making friends with the... the Rubies."

"You got it!" Spinette saluted her "I'mma get so many that you'll be blasted right off ya feet!"

Spinel turned to Pink Pearl, looking up at her while rubbing at her eyes. Pink Pearl blinked a bit in confusion, "Lady Spinel... are you, crying?"

"Nah nah, just... if I'm not back soon I want you guys to come for me or... go do something else just... don't wait." Spinel managed to say as she looked away

"What?"

"Don't wait!" Spinel declared while casting a glare to the ground, "Got it?"

"Well, of course." Pink Pearl bowed

"No sweat, Big Spin!" Spinette raised a thumb towards her 

"Yeah... no sweat." Spinel said as she entered the room.

Once the door closed, Pink Pearl couldn't help but give a worried sigh. She had hoped to avoid confrontation with Gems like this Ruby, especially where Lady Spinel was concerned. In truth, she was glad Spinel didn't leave the Palace too often, it kept things like this from happening. She found herself stressed whenever hearing about Gems wanting the Diamond Authority back. She may not have known much about Steven when he saved her from White Diamond's control, but anyone who wanted to get rid of the System that led to her being torn from her Diamond was a hero in her book. She'd never say as much to Spinel, of course. Spinel had spurned Pink Diamond since her arrival, and seemed unnaturally determined to entertain the rest of their former rulers. One would assume that such a conflict of interest would drive Pink Pearl away from her, but she couldn't help it. If there was one thing the Diamonds got right, it was that Spinel reminded her far too much of her Diamond. 

Seeing her jump from shoulder to shoulder whenever the Diamonds left their Palace sent Pink Pearl into a maelstrom of nostalgia that she couldn't help but draw closer to. Gems all over the Empire figured her for the Diamonds little toy, but Pink Pearl knew better. She saw the way they looked at her, similar to how they used to look at Pink Diamond back in the old days. She had been unsure when she originally came to the Palace seeking to serve her, and her resolve almost crumbled in White Diamond's presence, but Spinel had been worth it. Her constant attempts to entertain, her sheer devotion to out-perform herself, even the nickname she'd given her soon after they met. All of it made Pink Pearl feel as though she had a proper place in the universe, someone to serve again. She wasn't Pink Diamond, not by a mile, but she made Pink Pearl feel happy again.

And the idea that the Gem she'd associated all that security with was willingly associating herself with an aggressive activist was... well it wasn't comforting... not in the slightest. Still, Pink Pearl was determined to serve... even if it wasn't exactly something she wanted to do. Letting her arms fall to her sides, she turned her attention to Spinette.

"Well, we'd best begin with..." Pearl trailed off, noticing that Spinette was staring at the door with a blank smile

Pink Pearl took a step back in surprise when she noticed that Spinette was trembling, "Are... are you okay?"

Spinette turned and looked at her with wide eyes "Am I doing it wrong?!?"

Looking around, Pink Pearl had to steady herself "Doing... _what_ wrong? We haven't even gone to search for Rubies yet."

"No! I just-" Spinette raised her hands before her and stared at them with a confused expression "I just don't know why it's not working!"

"What isn't working? Spinette, you aren't making any sense!" 

"I'm trying so hard!" she began stomping her foot "But no matter what I do I just can't get her to smile!"

"Who-?" And then it clicked "Spinel? Are you talking about Spinel?"

"Who else!?!" Spinette stretched her arms to her sides for emphasis

Pink Pearl had to do a double-take "Spinette, what are you saying? I've seen Spinel smile plenty of times since you two met."

Spinette stared at Pink Pearl with an open mouth before frowning and throwing her hand back towards the door behind her "That was _smiling_ to you?!?" she asked before shaking her head in an exasperated manner and drawing closer "No! A smile isn't supposed to be that... that sad!"

Pink Pearl's eye widened as Spinette buried her face In her chest and grabbed at her shoulders "I can't get her to... to give a big ol' happy smile... A smile that's just joy and cheer a-a-and bright!"

Holding her arms to her side, Pink Pearl let Spinette lean against her whilst trying to get over her own shock. At first she'd assumed Spinette just wasn't used to being apart from Spinel... perhaps some shared mentality of being close to their best friend that all gems of their type had? But no... this wasn't like Spinel's abandonment problems... this was...

...this was something entirely new.

"Hey!" a rough voice snapped Pink Pearl from her thoughts and turned to see a group of Rubies approaching them until the one in front stopped and folded her arms.

She looked both of them up and down before nodding to the closed door "So... you guys pals of Eyeball's?" 

Pink Pearl had been so caught off-guard by Spinette's outburst that she wasn't ready to answer that question. Before she could collect herself, Spinette pulled away. Pearl reached out to her, but Spinette merely smiled again as she placed her hands on her hips and approached the group of Rubies with the usual bounce in her step.

"Hey there!" she greeted before leaning over them and giggling "Any o' you gems wanna have a wrestle?"

There was nothing but silence in the corridor as Pink Pearl searched that cheerful grin for any sign of the exasperated gem who clung to her mere seconds ago. 

Finally the Ruby at the front of the pack folded her arms at Spinette before answering with a simple "Yeah, okay."

* * *

Spinel nearly flinched when the door closed behind her, Eyeball came to her side. She placed her fists against her hips while looking at Spinel curiously.

"What was that about?" she asked while gesturing to the door

"Nothing... just got a bit nostalgic." Spinel grumbled before taking a look around "What is this place?"

"They gave me this room all to myself after testifyin' against Rose Quartz a while back!" Eyeball gestured around them as she walked inside "They wanted to take it away from me after Rose got into their heads, but that fake wanted to seem so benevolent! So Charitable! Forgiving!" 

She proceeded to kick over a rectangular device before seeming to come to her senses and pick it back up. Once she set the slightly dented device back in place, she looked back to Spinel while raising a fist for emphasis "But she'll regret it! For this shall be the birthplace of revolution!"

"Yeah..." Spinel rubbed at the back of her neck as she followed Eyeball deeper into the room "Ya say revolution, but wasn't the whole downfall of the Diamond Authority caused by Revolution in the first place?"

"Exactly!" Eyeball leaned against a wall and smirked "We use their tactics against them, just gotta get a bunch of like-minded soldiers who can help free the Diamonds and finally bring that manipulator to justice!"

"Again... ya keep saying that, but I'm pretty sure that 'manipulator' actually is the real Pink Diamond."

"No!" Eyeball shouted while balling up her fists "Even _she_ keeps saying that, but I know what I saw!"

Spinel once more raised her hands in front of her "Wait wait... who keeps saying wha-?"

"You spreading stories again, Ruby?"

The new voice immediately stood out to Spinel due to its gruffness, soon she and Ruby were following it to a large gem looking out a window while sitting atop a large hexagon. Spinel couldn't exactly place what type she was due to the massive hair that covered most of her back, but Eyeball was quick to rush towards her with a smile.

"Jasper!" she called while running to the larger gem's side "I finally found more support for the Cause! She tried to kill the traitor just like us! She just broke free of her imprisonment and came to help us!"

"Now hold on," Spinel gave a small chuckle "I never did say that I was-"

Her words died the moment Jasper turned around to look at her. Spinel's eyes grew wide at the sheer scale of the gem "Oh... snap you are big." 

It wasn't a lie, she'd seen Amethysts and Jaspers before but not a single one of them could compare to the brawn this one was sporting. She immediately took a step back as Jasper gave her a once over, suddenly vary aware of how far she was from any form of aid.

"Amazing right!?!" Eyeball took note of her awe and joined her in staring at Jasper "The war hero that I know could've single-handedly turned the tide! I found her wandering Homeworld not long after the Diamonds were tricked. With her help, I know we got a chance of making things right!"

"Hmph," Jasper turned back to the window "What'd she say to get you roped into this?"

"Huh?" both Spinel and Eyeball said simultaneously 

"Most gems who try to kill Steven seem to grow fond of that pile of dirt he calls home..." Jasper sighed "Even the Diamonds tried living there, so why not you?"

"Well... I sort've nearly destroyed it trying to kill him..." Spinel said awkwardly while tapping a toe against the floor "So it felt a bit... weird to be there."

"Heh," Jasper brought a hand to her face "Ruby, do you have any idea who that is?"

"The Assassin that the traitor beat!"

"No," Jasper shook her head "that Gem is basically the Diamonds' court jester."

"B-But Rose Quartz sent her, why would she send a clown to the Diamonds if not to-!"

"Pink Diamond, Geez." Jasper groaned "How long has it been?"

"See?!?" Eyeball threw her hands up in the air before turning on Spinel "She's been saying stuff like that ever since I found her. Rose must've done something to her too."

Rolling her eyes, Jasper finally slid off the Hexagon and stretched. Eyeball watched with a frown that weakened a bit as she steadied her breath "I... I'll figure out how to undo it," she said before turning on Spinel "But mark my words, once Jasper's back to her full fighting form, we'll be unstoppable!"

"Hey Rubes, why not show the new Gem that propaganda you've been working on?" Jasper suggested while turning to look at them.

"Oh! Great Idea!" Eyeball declared before marching off enthusiastically "This stuff is gonna wake Homeworld from Rose's stupor! Just you wait!"

Spinel watched Eyeball race off before hearing Jasper sigh, "She's really into the whole revolution thing..."

Spinel turned to her with a raised eyebrow, "And you're not?"

Jasper shrugged, "The Diamonds bought into what that Steven kid was preaching, its out of our hands now." she turned back to the window and folded her arms "Ruby's got it in her head that Pink Diamond had to have been shattered, so the idea that the Diamonds believe Steven to be her son just doesn't make sense to her. I get it... used to have ideas like that back when the Authority was still a thing."

Frowning, Jasper's gaze shifted to the Palace in the distance, "But even at my worst I'd never openly go against the Diamonds like she does, if they say he's Pink Diamond... he's gotta be Pink Diamond."

"Yeah... trust me on that." Spinel sighed while walking over to the hexagon Jasper had vacated and leaning on it "So if you aren't in on the whole Revolution thing, why are you here?"

"Better than just walking around out there, I guess." Jasper gestured to the window "Thought coming back to Homeworld would make everything make sense, but seeing it without the Authority's kind of disorienting."

"Meh," Spinel shrugged "I was kinda busy getting over Pink to notice."

"I never got over her," Jasper admitted before grumbling "I went to war for her, served for millennia for her, nearly killed her son for her... and turns out she wasn't even the Gem I thought she was."

Spinel blinked at that, looking up at Jasper before sighing "Yeah... she kind of left me on my own, standing still in one place for a few millennia."

Jasper looked over to her before giving a nod, "...Harsh."

"I know, right!?!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Because of the last chapter, I was able to make this one fairly longer than the rest had been. Coincidentally, that also extended the time needed to get this written. It wasn't the main issue by far, there were several things that kept me from typing for a while, but if this chapter weren't bigger I probably could've gotten it out earlier. Anyway, I've set up most of the stuff I was planning from the beginning, not all of it but we're in a good place right now.


	5. Agree to Disagree

Speaking with Jasper really was therapeutic for Spinel.

Despite her overwhelmingly intimidating appearance, the larger Gem was quite casual and understanding of the whole ordeal. She didn't seem interested in judging Spinel or Pink Diamond despite her blatant disillusionment with her. Unlike Eyeball, who found every chance to try and steer the conversation back to their 'revolution', Jasper let Spinel go at her own pace. And so she did, venting like she hadn't vented before. At first she was hesitant to mention her colossal screw-up with Steven, as it was still embarrassing to even think about, but Jasper's lack of negative response led to her speaking more and more about it. She recalled how good it felt at the time to finally get back at someone for all those years she spent alone, how much fun actually standing up for herself had been, even though Pink Diamond's absence had soured everything. Leaning back in a crystalline chair, Spinel looked away as she got to the part when more things soured over the course of that fateful day.

Her brief stint as her old self had been a highlight of it all, as Spinel couldn't help but remember how good it felt to just have everything Pink related wiped away. Everything came to her naturally, just laughing and fun and enjoying herself until all those memories came flooding back with a vengeance. Steven may have talked her down a few times, but Spinel honestly didn't know if she could keep from relapsing if the Diamonds hadn't shown up. It just felt so good, but then it felt bad, but it still felt good again.

"Hm, its sounding pretty familiar." Jasper had said whilst watching Eyeball run to and from collecting a series of amber-colored pads "I mean, I didn't actually get past the whole 'It felt bad' part, but what can ya do? If I had succeeded in taking down the kid I would've been breaking my own Diamond. If I had him sent here the others would've figured out what happened eventually. Might not've dissolved the Empire but back then you could get thrashed just for standing next to a Diamond wrong, let alone poofing one subterfuge or not. I guess I should be glad I failed."

Spinel tapped a finger on the table for a moment, "Oh, well... I ain't got the right to comment on regrets and all that, but I've found doing what makes ya happy really does distract ya from thinkin' like that." she gestured around the room "So what makes you happy?"

"Serving my Diamonds, not really something I can do with a straight face anymore." Jasper looked back at her "They all love the kid I was trying to crush, so much so that they just went and gave up the Authority for him. Gems are supposed to be moving past their control, but I'm a soldier. Been one since I popped out of my Kindergarten and I'll be one until the day I finally shatter."

Folding her arms, Jasper nodded to Spinel "Gems like you don't have to worry about the Empire being gone, your purpose is to entertain." She glanced down to Eyeball as she passed by "Soldiers like me and her are built for service and battle of all calibers, but with this whole age of peace thing we aren't really needed anymore."

Eyeball paused with a pile of the pads in her arms, "That's why we need to remind all these dumb jerks how things are really supposed to roll!" she declared before dumping them onto the table "With my drawings, we can spread our message far and wide!"

Spinel curiously reached over and grabbed one of the pads, only to find herself looking at a drawing of Jasper standing on a hilltop. Raising an eyebrow, she grabbed another and found a drawing of Jasper fighting off two other gems. She briefly glanced to Eyeball, who practically radiated smug pride in her works, before looking to Jasper herself. Holding four different pads in her hands, Jasper looked them over before looking to Eyeball, "There's a whole lot of me here."

"Well _you're_ the cornerstone of the revolution!" Eyeball declared before raising a fist "Once they see you leading the charge, they won't be able to hold their ground! We'll roll right over those-!"

"When did you even make these?" Jasper wondered out loud before grabbing another one and smirking "You sure do like these hero poses."

Eyeball's tirade faltered, a small blush forming as she kicked at the ground "Well t-they fit you the best!" she stated before grinning "You are a hero after all!"

"A hero..." Jasper repeated, and Eyeball almost looked a bit hopeful until she snickered and shook her head "Yeah right."

And like that, Eyeball's grin formed into another deep frown before she released a loud groan and walked to Spinel "This is gonna take forever at this rate!" She growled as she pulled Spinel out of the chair and made for the door "She shouldn't be seen like this, we have to find someone who can help."

"But how exactly are we supposed to do that?" Spinel asked more out of curiosity than anything "Didn't you say she was under Steve- I mean- Rose Quartz's thrall or something?"

"We just need to find someone who's seen this before!" Eyeball declared before stopping and pointing at Spinel "You've been staying at the palace! So from now on I'll consider you a vital part of our Information Network!" 

Spinel had to do a double take "Excuse me? I already said I ain't no good for sneaking and stuff!" she tapped a foot against the ground "Almost every way I move makes a squeaky sound."

"Standing for what's right means overcoming individual weaknesses, Soldier!" Eyeball poked her "And right now we're on the losing side of the Info wars. But with you? We can turn the tables on this conspiracy!"

"Wait... I thought we were the ones hatching a conspiracy?"

"In order to undo _another_ conspiracy!" Eyeball gestured to the door "Now all I need you to do is find someone who knows Quartz gems. Someone who can identify what kinda powers lets Rose control other gems like this. Given the resources in the palace, their should be a number of options."

"But I-"

"Come chat again when ya got time." She heard Jasper call out even as she was being pushed out.

Eyeball moved to the door and gave a suspicious look around before eyeing her "Homeworld needs us, soldier. So don't come back unless you've got something to help save it."

And with that, the door closed again and Spinel was finally given time to release a sigh. Despite Eyeball's rampant activism, speaking with Jasper had relieved Spinel of a number of issues she just hadn't felt able to bring up lately. It gave her a little perspective, and she was already itching for the next time they could chat. Jasper had said that she could come by any time, she'd seemed bored and aimless throughout most of their conversation. The only problem was Eyeball's expectations for this whole "Revolution" thing. Spinel may not have been the smartest gem on Homeworld, but she was fairly certain that Quartz soldiers didn't have wild mind control powers. Even Pink Diamond could only heal gems while she was doing her Rose shtick. Even if Spinel did find an expert on the matter, she expected they'd tell her the same, but Eyeball expected clues that would help 'cure' Jasper and everyone from some kinda mental mumbo jumbo.

Spinel kicked at the ground, shoes squeaking as she slowly made her way down the hall away from the door. She knew what the simplest answer would be, just make up some convincing information that could satisfy Eyeball's theories, but Spinel hadn't been lying when she'd mentioned how terrible her subterfuge abilities were. She wasn't made to be sneaky and conniving, she was too expressive and loud and a bunch of other stuff that would probably give her away if she tried being deceitful. She could maybe ask one of the pearls how to do stuff like that, she could definitely see one of them lying through their teeth if they were ordered to do so. The prospect of asking Pink Pearl to help her lie made Spinel feel kind of awkward, as asking for advice on how to be sneaky and manipulative seemed kind of insulting out of context. Besides, Spinel already left both her and Spinette behind so she could sate her curiosity about Eyeball... left them...

...all alone...

Spinel's head snapped up as she began looking around the hall. She had gotten so caught up speaking with Jasper that she'd completely lost track of time. She'd told them to only wait for an hour, but had it been an hour already? The halls were empty, devoid of any gems red or pink. As Spinel searched, her movements got quicker, her eyes looking around more frantically as images of Spinette just standing around and waiting for her began to creep into her mind. Pink Pearl would make her do something, anything right? That's what she'd told her! They had to have gone and done something, so they weren't just waiting for her. Spinel told herself that over and over again, but it did little to assuage her fear. Finally she found her way back to the entrance of the giant Ruby residence, stepping out into the sunlight again only to immediately stumble as a horrifying scene greeted her.

Pieces of Spinette being lugged around by entire groups of Rubies, all of them fighting over the scraps ferociously.

Spinel felt her hands moving, ready to stretch and stop them until a hand reached her shoulder. Spinning around in her panic, Spinel found Pink Pearl watching her with a worried expression, "Lady Spinel, I'm sorry if this isn't to your specifications." she apologized

The words confused Spinel, whose eyes kept going to the general mayhem taking place in front of the dome-like building, "W-what?" she'd barely been able to hear her due to her panicked tunnel vision.

"You told us to wait and interact with the Rubies, but I wasn't sure if this constituted as the interaction you wanted." Pink Pearl explained while casting a sideways glance towards the gang of gems "I was planning on asking you once your hour-limit ran out, but you've arrived early so I don't suppose I shall question it further."

The jarring juxtaposition between the terrifying scene and Pink Pearl's polite and unnecessary apology had left Spinel unable to speak at first. The time it took for her to try and respond was enough for a sound to reach her ears: Laughter.

A series of familiar giggles coming from one of the groups of Rubies, who broke up as something darted between their legs and began bouncing away. It was Spinette, bouncing away from them as little more than a head whilst sticking her tongue out at them. As Spinel watched, she found her initial assumption had been wrong. She was stretching her neck and leaving it in a trail behind her as she bounced, similar to her other limbs that were being stretched and pulled by the Rubies in an effort to halt her movements.

She was just... stretching.

A wave of relief hit Spinel stronger than she would've liked to admit, immediately bringing her to her knees as Pink Pearl gasped and bent to rub her shoulder, "Lady Spinel?" she asked "What's wrong, did everything go okay in there?"

The relief that Spinel had been reveling in turned to embarrassment quickly. She'd gotten so caught up in her worries that she'd nearly blinded herself with fear. If Pink Pearl hadn't interrupted her, Spinel was almost positive that she would've made a scene. She swallowed nervously at the idea of explaining to Spinette why she'd attacked her new friends, just how much progress did she almost erase? Would she have been able to clear things up with Spinette afterwards? Probably...Spinette's desire to be her best friend very well could override that, the very same desire had made Spinel stand in one place for several millennia after all. But what would Pink Pearl say if she acted out like that? Probably tell the other pearls, who would probably tell the Diamonds, who would either rebuke her or have a good laugh over it.

Spinel pushed such thoughts down as she watched Spinette, only now realizing that Pink Pearl was still rubbing her shoulder. How long had she just been sitting there and staring? Embarrassed, she put a hand over Pink Pearl's to try and dissuade some of her worry, "Sorry Pinks, just a little off my game. Thought I saw somethin' I didn't.'

Pink Pearl looked to the ground and nodded a bit, "Would you like me to get something for you?"

Looking back to Spinette, Spinel snickered "Well, for starters, maybe you could fill me in on how we got to this?"

"She sought to befriend them through wrestling." Pink explained while folding her arms behind her back "As she continued winning, more and more Rubies wanted to test their mettle until... well."

She gestured to Spinette, who had wrapped up the numerous rubies in her arms and was now standing atop them while the crowd around her cheered them on. She bounced up a bit before calling out, "Come on folks! Help count me down!"

She resumed bouncing as she counted down from ten, the Rubies struggling to escape her arms as the crowd joined in. The moment they hit zero, Spinette launched herself off the wrapped up Rubies as her arms began unwinding. The Rubies collapsed in a giant heap of grouches and mutters until Spinette landed back in the midst of them. She descended into a fit of giggles that rapidly spread to the Rubies beneath her until the pile of gems were laughing and congratulating each other. Eventually the Rubies pulled themselves off each other and began clamoring around Spinette.

"Now that's what I call battle-sense, soldier!" one snickered while shaking Spinette's hand vigorously, her arm bending wildly as a result.

"Well shucks," Spinette waved her off as another Ruby climbed onto her back "I'm just for playing around guys, ain't no battle stuff in me at all!"

"Well that's just hooey!" The Ruby on her back shouted while trying and failing to get her in a headlock.

Before any more could try scaling her, Spinette spotted Spinel and Pink Pearl approaching and quickly wrapped the nearest Rubies up in a hug, "Spinel! Lookie here!" she declared while hugging them close "I went and made a whole ton of friends, just like you was askin' for!"

"I'm liking what I'm seeing so far, yeah..." Spinel walked around giving them a once over "For your first gig, seems you pulled in quite the audience."

Spinette puffed up her chest with a cheeky grin, "Well I learned from the best!" she declared before releasing the Rubies and bouncing towards Spinel, dislodging the Ruby on her back in the process. Instinctively, Spinel held out her arms just as Spinette landed in them and immediately clung to her. Spinel tilted her head up as Spinette began nuzzling her fiercely, giggling all the way as she wrapped her arms around her. Though she merely allowed it at first, Spinel's arms tightened around Spinette as she began leaning into her snuggling. Not too much to be overt... just enough.

Pink Pearl watched them with a smile that slowly lessened as the two continued. 

* * *

"I just can't believe the sheer magnitude of your forgetfulness."

"It's why I never acquired many colonies, Yellow. I do my best to contain my range of direct governance."

Blue Diamond was somewhat listening to what her fellow diamonds were discussing, her eyes stuck to the image of the stars passing them by. They'd just gotten done with their latest effort to check up on White Diamond's endeavors, containing an outbreak of aliens that had overrun one of her colonies in Facet 4Q22. They weren't exactly harmful, it was more that their insanely high reproductive rate left more and more of them wherever there was any space. White had apparently planned to have Yellow have a squad of soldiers deal with them, but then Steven had become the focal point of her endeavors. The few number of gems that populated the remote base had sealed off the majority of their buildings while waiting, just a small group of Howlites led by a Scolecite. They acted with restrained respect, only showing hints of surprise that their Diamond had come in person to rectify the problem.

The aliens clogged up structures, covered hallways and generally just got everywhere, small on their own but able to form massive blockages that impeded the work of the Gems stationed there. Knowing that calling in her soldiers to clear them out wouldn't be easy due to how far White Diamond tended to set up her colonies from anywhere else, Yellow had turned to the local ecosystem to find a counter. Tracking the life form to its natural habitat, the Diamonds sought out the numerous creatures which feasted upon it. Using several reports the local Gems had collected upon the wildlife, they eventually let loose several beasts inside their outposts to gorge themselves. For several days they let the beasts clear out the outbreak, eventually releasing them back into the wild once their duty had been fulfilled. The beasts had a naturally low reproduction rate, convincing Yellow that providing them with an extra source of nourishment wouldn't do much to threaten the local ecosystem.

Working with a Peridot, Yellow had set this as protocol in case such an outbreak ever occurred again, the Scolecite in particular giving a single nod as thanks before returning to work. Once the matter was resolved, they'd boarded their ship and set off. It was there that White Diamond revealed that interacting with the few gems she once called her own had actually jogged her memory quite a lot. At that point she and Yellow had resumed arguing over said forgetfulness. Blue Diamond hadn't interjected, once more having her thoughts primarily focused on what could be happening back at the palace. Apparently Yellow and White had determined that due to the potential scale of what may have been forgotten, their current method of travelling from planet to planet as things were remembered would become ineffective eventually. 

So instead, Yellow suggested that they put a halt to their trip and return so she and White could go over a step-by-step recounting of events. Blue Diamond had been ecstatic, her enthusiasm lasting the entire return trip. White was excessively receptive to the idea, her expression seemed nostalgic ever since touching down on her colony. Her defense against Yellow's accusations were given with her usual smile, her thoughts elsewhere. Yellow Diamond had been suspicious of this change, but hadn't pressed it. Instead she'd turned to her trio of Peridots to keep her updated during the return trip. 

These Peridots had been some of the gems who'd coordinated the recovery effort in Facet 7Y13. After things had been settled, they were determined to continue helping them with their mission. Despite Yellow insisting that they didn't have to, the trio had wound up following aboard the Diamonds' ship. Once Yellow had stated that they'd be returning to Homeworld, she was sure the Peridots would return to their base. Surprisingly, they were extremely unwilling to part with her for some reason. As much as Yellow wanted to push Steven's idea of Gems going off and being free, she also recognized that the very same principle meant she couldn't exactly force them not to follow without good reason. 

So she held the three Peridots in one hand as their ship continued its journey to Homeworld, her other hand busy petting them as they reclined in her palm, occasionally pushing each other out of the way to relax better.

"How long has it been since we've been on an extended trip away from the Palace?" White Diamond wondered as the display before them showed the stars and planets they were passing.

"Well I wouldn't call those occasional visits with Steven 'Extended'." Yellow Diamond stated while looking down at the gems in her hand

"Perhaps when things settled down once more, we should take a round trip across the colonies." White glanced down to her fellow Diamonds "I'd forgotten just how interesting our subjects could be when left to their own devices."

"Really? I seem to remember you having a particularly hard time moving around whenever we'd venture into the local ecosystem." Yellow noted while turning back to look at her.

"Well... I meant more like visiting the outposts, maybe a base or two." White Diamond thought for a moment before grinning "You know, to encourage them to embrace their new freedom and such. It seems obvious most of the Empire still holds us in high regards."

She nodded down towards the Peridots who were thoroughly indulging in Yellow's ministrations. Yellow didn't answer, instead staring down at her Gems, her face still as she watched them enjoy themselves. 

"I wonder what she does without us." Blue wondered out loud, when both of her fellow diamonds looked to her she elaborated, "Spinel... I know she and Pink's Pearl would plan out their performances in their off time, but surely they do other stuff when not entertaining us, correct?"

"Never gave it much thought, really." White Diamond admitted with a shrug "I always figured the pebbles kept her busy between showings."

"Who cares?" Yellow shrugged "Perhaps she goes out to enjoy the company of her fellow gems, it shouldn't make much difference to us."

As she spoke, she shifted her hand a bit to offer the Peridots more space to recline. She didn't know why, but petting them was oddly relaxing. 

"Since Yellow seems determined to oversee my formal recounting of my actions, perhaps you can use the time to answer your own question." White Diamond suggested with a smile 

Blue's eyes widened at that, before a small smile formed on her face, "That... actually sounds nice."

"Yes, too nice..." Yellow raised an eyebrow at White Diamond "You came up with that just now?"

"She's been worrying over them throughout our entire trip, Yellow." White stated while leaning her head into her palm "I don't need Steven's empathy to notice."

Though Yellow still seemed suspicious, Blue Diamond's smile grew wider, "I hope they wouldn't mind."

Seeing her joy, Yellow rolled her eyes and focused on the Peridots once more before pausing. Noticing her fingers stopping, the trio poked their heads up to look at her.

"...I believe we forgot to warn them of our return." Yellow Diamond noted before raising the Peridots up to her face "Would one of you mind helping me in sending a message?"

The three of them looked at her in somewhat of a daze, one casually rubbing her head against Yellow Diamond's thumb until the one in the center pushed the other two aside.

"Y-Yes, My Diamond!" Peridot 4OI said enthusiastically while raising her arm in front of her "At once!"

* * *

Spinel watched Spinette and Blue Pearl dance for what felt like the hundredth time.

Over the last few days, she could admit that she and Pink Pearl had gotten used to Blue's assistance. Whenever they asked, she seemed eager for a chance to move. Yellow Pearl would glance at them occasionally, but would always return to her work eventually. With Spinette suitably occupied, it left Spinel with time to look into her Eyeball problem. As expected, every Pearl that she asked had confirmed that Rose Quartz gems were completely incapable of any of the mind control theories that Eyeball had. Furthermore, because Blue Diamond had kept most of them bubbled since the First Era, there weren't many gems who could actually attest to what they were capable of. Even Pink Pearl couldn't figure out whether they were more comparable to Amethysts or Jaspers. Ironically, soldiers like Jasper who were supposed to be grown right alongside gems like them should have more knowledge about them than the average gem. But of course, Spinel knew that anything that conflicted with Eyeball's theories would probably be considered false information in some way.

And so Spinel had gone with her second idea, one which Pink Pearl seemed more than enthusiastic to aid her with.

"I ain't seen Yellow Pearl all morning." Spinel said, trying to keep her face as straight as possible while Pink Pearl stared her down. Pink looked for a moment before shaking her head and gesturing towards her.

"You're mouth keeps trying to smile, Lady Spinel. Anyone would find that suspicious." 

They were working on her ability to lie, which had been expectantly lacking. Spinel was just too expressive, with far too many tells. A lie may get her tapping her feet or casually clapping her hands, it was almost impossible for her to speak without some movement or other that would end up giving her away. Of course, this was partially due to Spinel's discomfort with being unable to move, but she would never tell Pink Pearl that. Something like that wasn't her problem at all, and Spinel wasn't willing to make it her problem. They'd managed to stifle her reactions to a number of facial twitches, but those were much more resilient than her wilder movements. 

"Why do I have to be the topic of your little training program?" Yellow piped up without looking away from her monitor "I know you can be more creative than that."

Still looking Spinel over, Pink Pearl reached forward and pressed a finger to the left side of her lips before tugging it down a bit, "Lying isn't about what's being said, its about how its said." she stated "As long as you can express it correctly, you could claim to be a Diamond yourself and the effect would be the same."

Spinel snickered at the idea for a moment before she frowned, eyes briefly glancing to Spinette and Blue Pearl. Pink Pearl's hand tilted her head back until they were looking at each other again, and Spinel's gaze fell as she continued poking at her face, "Are you sure you want to do this, Pinks?" she asked, the finger tugging on the side of her lips pausing "I know being helpful's your idea of fun and all, but there's gotta be something else you want to use your time for, right?"

Pink Pearl stared at her for a moment before reaching up and running her other hand along one of her pigtails, "I promise you that I'm having all the fun I could ask for, Lady Spinel." Pink Pearl declared with a smile

Yellow Pearl's fingers hovered over the display before her for a moment before she glanced to them, "Why are you guys even practicing for this?" she asked "This Ruby doesn't exactly seem like the most knowledgeable gem around, if she's crazy enough to go against the Diamonds then she's crazy enough to believe anything."

"I'm not real keen on bankin' my next talk with Jasper on that." Spinel admitted

"Ma'am," Pink Pearl said to regain her attention "You've been adamant on speaking with that Quartz again for days. I'm glad you feel like you can relate to her, but... I just don't see any further interaction with that Ruby as a positive."

Spinel raised an eyebrow before smirking, "Ya gettin' worried over me, Pinks?"

Pink Pearl didn't respond immediately, merely stared at Spinel for some time before nodding, "I don't want you getting into stressful scenarios, Lady Spinel." she declared.

The two shared a look for a few moments, long enough for Yellow Pearl to shake her head and return to her work. Spinel found herself stuck for a moment, Pink Pearl's eye practically burrowing into her. Spinel's smile slowly grew again before she suddenly reared back with both arms and threw them around Pink Pearl, who's eye went wide as she was wrapped up and pulled close. Spinel stood tall with the Pearl in her grasp, snickering as she gave her a small shake, "Well ain't I lucky to have a friend like you, eh?"

"Lady Spinel!" Pink Pearl blushed ferociously "I'm being serious!"

"I get it, I get it." Spinel hung her head to the side "I'll admit that Eyeball's got a whole heap of wild ideas, but I'm pretty sure she's harmless. There ain't really much she can do to me, so I'll be just fine."

Pink Pearl opened her mouth as if to say something, but merely stared at the side of Spinel's head. Slipping a hand through Spinel's arms, Pink Pearl did her best to return the hug, "Very well... I'll do my best not to worry."

"That's all that I ask for~!" Spinel unwrapped her arms and took a step back "Geez, it doesn't feel good having you get all out of whack because of me, Pinks. I want my friends relaxed around me, ya know?"

"Of course..." Pink Pearl lowered her gaze to the floor, staring at the floor for a moment before looking up again "Speaking of which, have you noticed anything off with Spinette?"

Pausing, Spinel looked back at Pink Pearl with a raised eyebrow, "Off? We talkin' off for gems in general or off for her in particular?" Spinel asked back "I don't know if you've noticed but gems like us are capable of some pretty wacky stuff."

"Yes, of course. It's just that she's closest with you, Lady Spinel." Pink Pearl folded her hands together in front of her "I just figured if she wasn't acting like herself, you'd notice."

"Ah," Spinel nodded in understanding before putting a hand to her chin in thought, "well I'm not sure what we'd call _off_ in that case. I guess I figured out that she's pretty smart about being my bestie."

Spinel snapped her fingers, "Did you know she still hasn't used up the rest of her day of hugging? She cashes in her hours here and there, but she's still got like seven left after all this time. When I said she could cash them in whenever she wanted, I didn't think she'd be so frugal. I'm actually kinda impressed."

"And..?" Pink Pearl said, prompting Spinel to look at her "Anything else, Ma'am?"

"Well I think she's getting used to having other friends." Spinel placed her hands on her hips and grinned "She talks about the Rubies whenever they show up to challenge her again. And I think you can see how she and Blue are getting along, eh?"

They both turned to see Blue leaning back in Spinette's arms before getting tossed into the air, she gave a little twirl before landing in Spinette's grasp and moving along with her feet once more. 

Pink Pearl glanced back to Spinel, "And there's... nothing else?"

Spinel gave a shrug, "Well what were you looking for, Pinks?"

"Well... I'm not exactly sure, Lady Spinel." she looked away again "Sorry, we can get back to practicing-"

Yellow Pearl suddenly gasped and stood from her seat. Spinel and Pink Pearl turned to her, even Spinette and Blue Pearl halted their dancing as Yellow stared at the monitor before turning back to them with a smile. She turned back to the screen and began typing quickly, "They're coming back!"

"Who?" Blue Pearl asked while slowly slipping from Spinette's arms 

"Our Diamonds!" Yellow said as she finally stood from the screens and made for the room's exit.

Blue Pearl moved to follow, stopping only to look back and smile at Spinette, "Maybe my Diamond would like to see our dance." she said before hurrying after Yellow.

Spinette tilted her head in confusion before looking to Spinel, "Diamonds?"

Spinel's eyes widened, "Right, you first formed for me... How much ya know about the Diamonds, Spinette?"

Folding her arms, Spinette hummed and looked towards the ceiling before smiling, "Just that they sound really really... warm."

"Warm?" Spinel quirked an eyebrow as Pink Pearl walked to her side.

"The Diamonds were the ones who wished for us to oversee your awakening." Pink noted before gesturing towards Spinel "Lady Spinel often spent much of her time entertaining them before your arrival."

"So they're her audience?!?" Spinette gasped as she rushed to Spinel "Why didn't you tell me?!?"

Looking away, Spinel walked over to the door with a shrug "They're more than Audience, Spinsy. They take care of my desire to make folks smile and I take care of their longing for something small and Pink to coddle."

"Wow!" Spinette gasped as she climbed onto Spinel's back "Ya just gotta show me off! If they see how fantastical you are as a teacher, you'll get promoted for sure!"

"Not really how that works, but I'm lookin' to see 'em anyway." Spinel allowed Spinette to slip her legs under her arms. Once she was situated, Spinel shook her shoulders a bit to playfully jostle her.

Behind them, Pink Pearl stared at Spinette, watching her reactions intently until Spinel looked back at her, "You okay, Pinks?"

At once she nodded, smile slowly fading as she followed the duo out of the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To celebrate Halloween, here's the next chapter of Leftovers. Been a bit busier than usual for me, I know the time between this and the last chapter has been considerable, but hopefully it was worth it. Gotta really get back in my groove, and writing this has been helping with that. 
> 
> Anyway, hope you enjoy, any and all criticisms positive or negative are welcomed in full so leave a comment if you are so inclined to do. Like it? Hate it? Any ways you feel I could improve? Expectations for the next chapter? All are welcome and I will see you all in the next Installment of Leftovers.


	6. Royal Return

Blue Diamond and Spinette stared open-mouthed at each other for far longer than Spinel would've liked. It left her with a stretched smile that weakened as she glanced from the face of the gem riding her back to the Diamond meeting her gaze. She turned back to Pink Pearl, who was standing diligently at her side while waiting for something to happen. Pink noticed her gaze and gave Spinel a small smile. Spinel turned back to Blue Diamond, wondering if she should interrupt this unofficial stare-off.

The other Pearls took care of that for her.

"Ahem!" Yellow Pearl's impatient cough seemed to snap Blue Diamond from her stupor. 

Looking down, Blue Diamond found her and Yellow's Pearl staring up at her. While Blue Pearl gave a bow of greeting, Yellow Pearl seemed to look behind Blue Diamond before glancing up to her curiously, "Pardon me, but would you happen to know where-?"

"Oh... Oh!" Blue Diamond smiled and nodded behind her "Yellow Diamond's with White in the lower court, I'm sure she'd love to see-"

"Thanks!" Yellow said quickly before immediately running off.

Over the course of the interaction, Spinette seemed to finally shake off the shock of seeing a Diamond in person. Or at least, that's what Spinel was hoping was the case when she felt the arms holding her slack a bit.

"Wow..." Spinette said as she leaned her chin on top of Spinel's head "I know ya said you ran with the Big crowd, but I didn't know they were_ that_ big!"

Spinel frowned "Nah nah, Big Crowd doesn't mean physically big, ya know?"

"But she's huge~!" Spinette insisted, causing Blue Diamond to laugh as she leaned down and gave a bow to match her Pearl's.

Rising back up, Blue Diamond placed a hand to her mouth, unable to hold back her smile, "She..." she paused for a moment before lowering her hand "You two look so adorable together."

Spinel choked on her words a bit, "W-well that's just cause I've been learning her well, heh." she said before stumbling forward a bit as Spinette leaned over her.

"You should see just how good Big Spin's teaching is!" she declared before raising a hand and counting "I've learned dancing and bouncing and stretching."

"We've been working to get her accustomed to things." Pink Pearl stepped forward "The process has been... interesting."

"Oh?" Blue Diamond slowly lowered herself to her knees before tilting her head at them "I'd love to see some of that, I have this sneaking suspicion that it would be an absolute delight."

Spinette went still for a moment, just noticeable enough for Spinel to look up at her with a raised eyebrow. All of a sudden, Spinette stood on Spinel's back before launching herself off. She started stretching, her limbs extending as her body puffed up a bit to accommodate.

"I can... show ya!" Spinette struggled to speak a bit as she continued stretching herself out

"Woah, woah!" Spinel tried walking around her while waving her hands "Stretching that much doesn't hold up, Spinette! You'll end up straining ya form!"

If she heard Spinel's warning, Spinette didn't show it, stretching herself further as Blue Diamond stood back in surprise. Pink Pearl held a hand to her mouth as Spinel backed up next to her, they both watched as Spinette grew larger and larger. Eventually, her trembling body reached Blue Diamond's height. With a heavy inhale of breath, Spinette puffed herself out before releasing a sigh of relief. Despite the smile she sported afterwards, the shaky step forward she took was all Spinel had to see to know that she wasn't having an easy time with her stretched form.

Despite this, Spinette took another step towards Blue Diamond and offered her a hand, "C-Come on! I... I'll show ya just what I've... I've learned!"

She pulled back and tried to strike a pose, "Let's d-dance!"

"Bad idea!" Spinel called up to her "Very _very_ bad idea!"

Watching her try hard to dissuade the over-sized Spinette, Pink Pearl placed a hand to the side of her head, "Oh my..." narrowing her eye at Spinette's strained stance, she was soon distracted by the giggling. Glancing to the side, Pink Pearl spotted Blue Pearl trying and failing to hold back a giggle.

Blue Diamond stared at the offered hand which trembled with effort. Giving an uncertain smile, she reached out and took hold of it. The moment she grabbed that hand, Spinette released a squeaky breath as she began to deflate. They all watched as Spinette's body returned to normal, deflating until she was left lying on the ground with a dizzy grin plastered on her face.

Spinel placed her hands on her hips, giving a small sigh before calling to her "Ya okay?"

"I just... need to hold it for a quick dance routine!" Spinette managed to say while pushing herself up onto her hand and knees. Blinking, she looked to see her other hand still inflated and still holding Blue Diamond's, who was looking down at her with a growing expression of humored fondness.

"Woah..." Spinette looked up at her before grinning "I bet dancing with you'd shake this entire place apart!"

"Well, I can't confirm or deny such." Blue Diamond looked around in thought "I don't... I don't think I've ever danced inside the Palace. Maybe the occasional twirl while travelling amongst my colonies but... here?"

"Yeah!" Spinette took a few heavy breaths "Just gotta get good at my stretching like Spinel, then we can really rock this joint!"

Before she could attempt her stretch again, Blue Pearl ran to her side and took hold of her shoulders while still stifling her giggles. Turning her head up to her Diamond, Blue Pearl pulled Spinette close "My Diamond, I've been enjoying a fine amount of twirls and swings with her help. If you'd like... we could perform for you, perhaps?"

"Oh I'd love to, but..." Blue Diamond glanced behind her for a moment before looking back to them "You wouldn't mind doing so beside my pool? It has been so long since my last dip."

Though Blue Pearl immediately nodded, Spinette slipped a hand out of her grasp and waved it , "Hey hey!" twisting her head a little, she raised an eyebrow at Spinel "Hey, Big Spin... what's a pool?"

"Ya put water in it and float around in the stuff." Spinel pointed out

Spinette nodded twice with pursed lips before raising her eyebrow again, "And that is..?"

Spinel turned her glare towards Blue Pearl, "Ya guys spend how many hours dancing and ya never bring up water to her?"

"It never... really came up." the Pearl looked back down at Spinette with an embarrassed smile before gesturing forward, "You'll like it."

Watching the two of them, Spinel gave a small shake of her head just before a hand found her shoulder. Recognizing it immediately, she glanced up to Pink Pearl as she leaned down to whisper to her, "Ma'am, this could be the perfect opportunity to let her explore her friendship with this gem further."

"Ya think?" Spinel turned back and put a finger to her chin as she watched both Blue Diamond and her Pearl try to explain the concept of a pool to Spinette. Watching the back and forth for a moment, Spinel began nodding, "Yeah... yeah, I'm liking this."

"Then you know what we need to do, right?" 

Spinette was smiling and nodding to the explanations given to her, cleverly disguising her lack of understanding, when someone poked her. Turning around, she watched Spinel back up before grabbing Pink Pearl and jerking a thumb behind her.

"Hey, Pinks and I got to go check on some... uh..." Spinel's smile faltered for a moment, her eyes darting to Pink Pearl.

"Yellow." Pink Pearl stated, almost immediately Blue Pearl tightened her grip on Spinette

"Yeah!" Spinel snapped her fingers "I was going to greet her and White Diamond too, but they're off doing that thing in... the uh..."

"Lower Court." Pink continued

"Right right! So since you guys are gonna be busy showing off your moves, we're gonna go ask what's up and stuff." Spinel shot her a wink, with Spinette staring at her for a moment before asking.

"A-Are ya sure?" Spinette pouted, the sight of which immediately made Spinel go stiff.

"Um..." Spinel found herself unable to speak at the sight of Spinette's confused expression. Thankfully, Pink Pearl stepped in and pulled her close.

"We will reconvene with you two soon, I'm sure." she stated while patting Spinel on the shoulder "We wouldn't want to distract either of you during your performance."

"But-" Spinette tried saying something more, but Pink Pearl picked Spinel up and walked off with her. Spinette's eyes tracked them until Blue Diamond's muffled laughter brought her attention back up to her.

"You two care so much for one another." she noted before turning "I do hope my pool is worth it."

As she began walking off, Blue Pearl leaned past Spinette and smiled at her while nudging her forward, "It will be, I promise."

Shrugging, Spinette began marching after Blue Diamond, "Well I ain't doubting that this water stuff's all kinds of amazing, but Big Spin gets all moody without me there to keep her smilin'. So we'll be getting this done quick as can be."

Blue Diamond tilted her head back for a moment, but merely continued facing forward as she led them through the Palace. Spinette kept pace with her, her pout lessening as she noticed they were heading towards a part of the Palace she'd never seen before. But as she looked around in wonder, Blue Pearl drew a bit closer to her side and gave her a couple looks. Though thoroughly invested in the cool scenery in this section of the Palace, Spinette caught sight of the Pearl beside her, only for her to immediately turn her attention to the floor in front of them.

Realizing that Spinette was looking at her, Blue Pearl lifted her gaze, "You've been hanging around me and Yellow for a while now."

"Yep yep, she's loud if ya pull her from her screens!" Spinette laughed to herself

"Yeah... she is..." Blue Pearl turned to her "When we're dancing... do you ever see her...?"

Tilting her head to the side at her sudden hesitation, Spinette leaned closer "See her...?"

"You know... watching us?" 

"What, ya mean more than usual?" Spinette looked up to the ceiling while thinking "Well whenever you and I laugh loudly, she glances over. But she does that when Big Spin and Pinks applaud too so-"

"But are any of her looks, happy... or sad?"

"Not really, usually just the passive interest thing she's got goin' on." Spinette shrugged "Nothing much else."

"Oh..." Blue Pearl folded her arms and turned her attention downwards again. 

"Somethin' got ya down, buddy-o-mine?" Spinette asked

"It's just... she and I never interacted much before Era Three." Blue Pearl took a breath "She had her Diamond, and I had mine. We stood by their sides and carried out their tasks, only passively interacting once every few decades. Now that the Authority is gone, I had hoped we could finally become... friends. But she and I don't really seem to... mesh well."

Looking towards a nearby wall as they ascended a set of curved stairs, Blue Pearl sighed, "I always wanted to know more about her, and hoped she would come to enjoy my presence as well. But as you've no doubt noticed, she's very official."

"Yeah, takes her work stuff really serious." Spinette planted her fists on her hips and frowned "Ain't exactly my kind of fun time."

"Right?" Blue Pearl sighed, "I thought she'd at least be interested in seeing us dance, but she doesn't react to anything I do."

"She really likes when ya draw her, though!" Spinette pointed out "Gets all happy and stuffy every time."

"If only I could see more of that." Blue Pearl clasped her hands together, tightening them with a frown "She just doesn't want to do anything with me..."

"Ah, she'll come around!" Spinette declared while wrapping an arm around her "You're great fun, ya know? Someone as brainy as her's gotta see how swell hangin' with you is."

Spinette gave a big grin that Blue Pearl couldn't help but smile at. Leaning against the shorter gem, Blue Pearl nodded whilst wrapping an arm around Spinette as well, "Yeah" she nodded while pulling her close to her side and laying her head against Spinette's "Sorry, I didn't mean to bring all this up with you all at once. You usually make me so happy, but..."

"No worries, can't make ya happy if I don't know what's makin' ya sad." Spinette nodded to herself, as she faced a large set of double doors that Blue Diamond was standing beside while waiting for them to catch up "Now come on! Let's show off!"

* * *

Reaching the final step at the bottom of a staircase, Pink Pearl placed Spinel down and bent over to look at her, "Are you okay?"

Spinel hadn't moved or said anything since they left Spinette with Blue, just letting Pink Pearl carry her until she was finally dropped. The moment her feet touched the floor, she sat back down on the bottom step and took a breath, "Yeah... peachy. I just got a little out of sorts. She gave me the sad eyes, Pinks. The Sad Eyes!"

"She needs to get used to being apart from you." Pink Pearl stated "Enjoy time with others, she will adapt."

"I know... I just..." Spinel shook her head before standing up and wiggling her arms, "Nah, you're right. I know you are. Let's just go see how White and Yellow are."

"Oh... we're really going to visit them?" Pink Pearl asked before following Spinel towards the lower court.

"Well duh, it might've been thought up in the moment, but I ain't seen 'em for a bit!" Spinel spun around before leaning next to a window overlooking the city beyond "Maybe they can give us some pointers on how they expect us to deal with Spinette. They kinda just had us winging it up until now."

"Still not sure if you should be heading this?" Pink Pearl tilted her head, only for Spinel to roll her eyes.

"Pfft, Pinks come on," Spinel gestured to her sides "if anyone's heading this thing, its you. I'm just here for, like... support stuff."

"Lady Spinel," Pink Pearl drew close and placed a hand on Spinel's shoulder "you're encouragement here is invaluable."

Spinel gave a small grin, but looked away "The ol' flattery treatment, eh?"

"I'm serious, without you helping her-" Pink Pearl's eye wandered to the window frame and almost immediately she jerked back. Spinel blinked at her before following her gaze to the hand of none other than-

"Eyeball?!?" Spinel stepped back as the Ruby finished climbing into the window, small grumblings halting as she looked up to see the two of them.

"I saw their ship!" Eyeball declared as she hopped down and immediately began scanning her surroundings "Thought you might've been compromised. The timing was too suspicious, Soldier! Report."

"Report?" Spinel shook her head "Eyeball, it's only been a few days, I can't go snooping-"

"Hold up!" Eyeball raised her hand before pointing behind her, Spinel turned around to find Pink Pearl watching them. Under the dual gazes, the Pearl folded her hands in front of her and gave her usual smile. Turning back around, Spinel shrugged to Eyeball, who lowered her gaze before stepping around her.

"I came to see if you were still up for that..._ wrestling_ thing we talked about." Eyeball said in a somewhat strained tone while awkwardly patting Spinel's side "Ya know... as pals?"

Spinel narrowed her gaze for a bit before stretching her mouth into a smile and nodding, "Sure... I get what ya saying."

No sooner than she said that, Eyeball pulled Spinel down to eye level and began angrily whispering, "You're under surveillance now?"

Spinel knew that the Ruby was almost definitely audible to Pink Pearl, but played along, "Surve- that's Pink Pearl, we go almost everywhere together. She was with me when you and I met."

"I thought she was your Guard, I didn't know they had her with you in here."

"What did you _think_ would be in here?"

"The mind control device!"

Spinel did a double take at that, "I thought you said that Rose Quartz was responsible for messin' with gems' heads?"

"After careful deliberation," Eyeball folded her arms "I've figured that it would be silly for a single gem to be capable of such a feat on her own."

"So instead... she's using some kind of... device?" 

"Yes." Eyeball looked up at her "I figured something that powerful would be relatively easy to find."

Spinel had to fight to keep herself from sighing, fighting between annoyance, humor, and a little bit of disappointment. She didn't even get a chance to pretend to go along with the whole resistance shtick before her mission was apparently changed. So instead of fabricating information that didn't exist, she had to find a device that had even less chance of existing. Spinel thought about that for a moment, wondering if she could convince the Diamonds to help her build some convoluted-looking machine for a gag. There was no possible way that Eyeball would be able to figure out the difference. It was a funny idea, but one that would have to come later.

Standing up, Spinel looked to Pink Pearl and gave a knowing glance down to Eyeball, "Hey Pinks, you remember Eyeball right? One of them Rubies we hung out with a few days ago."

Getting the picture, Pink Pearl nodded, "Of course, Lady Spinel... your friend's come to check on you, I see." Turning, she gestured down the hall "Perhaps she'd like to join us on our visit to the Diamonds?"

Eyeball immediately balked at the idea, "What?!?"

Spinel could almost see where Pinks was coming from with that suggestion. If they got Eyeball to interact with the Diamonds some more, then she could see that they weren't under some kind of mind control. Yeah... if they got friendly and hung out, then she'd see how much better Era Three was and give up her whole conspiracy theory business. And the best part was that this idea almost sounded like something that Steven would think up, with that whole peace angle thing he liked going on about. Spinel smiled as she reached down and picked Eyeball up with a grin.

"That sounds like a great idea, Pinks!" Spinel stated, much to Eyeball's dismay. Before the gem in her arms could start arguing, Spinel continued "I'm sure hanging with them as my pal could help her learn _plenty_! They'd love to hang out with one of their fellow gems, sharing stories about how things work and chatting~!"

She was laying it on pretty thick, but thankfully Eyeball seemed capable of catching her implication. Eyeball stopped struggling her grasp, giving an incredibly fake smile while reaching back to pat Spinel on the shoulder "R-Right!" she stated with an uncomfortable chuckle "Any friend of yours is a friend of mine, soldier!"

Pink Pearl released a small breath she didn't know she'd been holding. She hadn't been prepared at all for Eyeball's sudden appearance, and had struggled to keep from pulling Spinel away the moment she appeared. Thankfully, Spinel seemed to catch on to her plan. Tricking this Ruby into going to the Diamonds would be the quickest way of getting her kicked out of the Palace before she was able to do any damage. She was nervous that Eyeball would see through the ploy, but Spinel seemed to sell the enthusiasm pretty well.

The two of them shared a look, both convinced that they were completely in sync with one another.

Pink Pearl led the way down to the Lower Court, with Eyeball frowning the moment her eyes were off of her. Glancing back to Spinel, she nodded "Good thinking there, we can look for clues better together." she looked down to Spinel's hands "But... ya think you could put me down?"

"Aw, what's a matter?" Spinel asked while wrapping her up a bit "Just a friend trying to have my pal all nice and comfy during her tour."

Eyeball narrowed her gaze before her eye snapped open, "Oooh, right... Gotta make it convincing." she nodded before leaning back and chuckling "Heh, and you said ya weren't good at subterfuge."

"Yeah... subterfuge..." Spinel laughed to herself, thankful that Eyeball didn't notice her shifty eyes.

The lower court was little more than a protruding section of the palace that looked over the city below. Instead of the grand staircase that led to the throne room, there was a small balcony that branched off into two small staircases that led down to the Lower court. It didn't take long for them to find White and Yellow Diamond, as White was reclining against the side of the balcony, her arms resting along the steps. As they descended one of the staircases, they spotted Yellow Diamond pacing back and forth beside a group of gems. Eyeball physically stiffened up in Spinel's grasp at the sight of them, but stayed relatively silent as Pink Pearl led them closer.

"-absolutely divine set of columns crafted for the throne room," White said while looking to the sky above "I was so sure we'd reconvene, even without Pink, and wanted to spruce things up a little."

"And that was all you did that day?" Yellow asked while continuing her pacing

"I wasn't always running all of Gemkind, ya know." White gave a soft chuckle "If I want to take a day to redesign our Palace I have all the right to."

Yellow looked down to her side, "Check up on that, just in case."

Following behind her as she paced were a trio of Peridots all trying to look through data displayed on floating monitors. Spinel recognized those monitors immediately as Yellow Pearl's, who was standing off to the side using another one of the monitors to facilitate a call. The call ended, and she turned back to the others before calling out, "We've got an all-clear on that shift change in Facet 2A54."

"Good, now then." Yellow Diamond turned back to White Diamond only to notice the three gems descending the steps, "Oh, Spinel!"

"Spinel?" White Diamond turned her head to the side, smiling once she sighted them "Ah! I would've thought Blue would be keeping you all to herself for the rest of the day. She was ever so worried about you during our trip."

"Eh... she's getting a Dance performance at her pool or somethin'." Spinel snickered as she hopped up on the reclining Diamond's arm before launching herself to her shoulder.

"Oh?" White Diamond gave a small shake of her head, "Whatever. Tell me how you've been. I'm sure it was just as amusing as I think it was~!"

"Oh well, it's mostly just been me and Pinks helpin' out Spinette with-" looking around, Spinel paused before glancing back to find Pink Pearl standing a good twelve yards away from White Diamond "...handling herself..."

Noticing Spinel trailing off, Pink Pearl nodded, "She's been exceeding all expectations." she said, forcing herself to meet White Diamond's eyes as she spoke.

Raising an eyebrow, White couldn't even respond before Yellow Diamond paused in her pacing, "Spinette?"

The Peridots weren't prepared, and all collided with Yellow Diamond's heel. Their impact sent the monitors floating away, Yellow Pearl was quick to run over and gesture towards them. The monitors moved in accordance with her gestures, floating around her while she looked them over for damages. If Yellow Diamond noticed their fumble, she didn't show it. Instead, she pondered for a moment before pointing to Spinel, "The Bubbled Gem... you named her Spinette?"

"Really?!?" White Diamond looked down at them again, smile widening at the nod Spinel gave "Oho, that is absolutely adorable. I can only imagine what you've been up to since then."

"Pinks and I are just the best at this teaching bis." Spinel winked back in Pink Pearl's direction before walking in a circle "We got her learning all about fun, and playin' games, and makin' pals."

Looking back to White Diamond, Spinel stopped upon realizing that she was staring at something on her chest instead of her. Spinel glanced down to find out what she was looking at.

Of course, she'd been carrying Eyeball around the entire time.

Spinel went wide-eyed as she realized that seeing the Diamonds had led to her completely forgetting about the Ruby, who was still stiffly staring at White Diamond. 

"Oh yeah!" Spinel said quickly before holding up Eyeball, "We took Spinette out to make some friends with a couple o' Rubies, this one and I became pals as a bonus."

Yellow Diamond quirked her head, "Wait... isn't that-?"

"Yes!" Eyeball shouted before forcing herself to smile wide "We've become the best kinds of friends through...uh...bonding!

"Mhm," Yellow Diamond's suspicious glare stayed locked to Eyeball as Spinel set her down "Bonding over what exactly?"

Eyeball raised a finger only to pause and look around for a bit, "Uhhh..."

"Wrestling!" Spinel said, with Eyeball quickly nodding in agreement "Yeah, you guys know how Rubies love wrestling?"

"Yellow used to tell me all about it," White Diamond smirked before turning and asking her sister, "Remember that? Whenever your soldier gems got into some roughhousing, you'd come complaining to me.?"

Yellow Diamond looked away and gave a thoughtful hum "Without any conquering, I suppose they got back into that habit then."

"Yeah yeah," Spinel jerked a thumb towards herself as she let Eyeball slip out of her grasp "Well me and Pinks had Spinette wrestling with them, and this one here joined me for a lil commentating. We really hit it off, right?"

Eyeball nodded as she stepped away, "A-As a loyal soldier, I couldn't help but notice her techniques."

Yellow Diamond looked at her for some more time before shrugging, "Interesting time you've had, Spinel."

"Well~ I guess it was." Spinel strutted closer to White Diamond's head and leaned against the side of her face "But I'm way more interested in where you's guys have been. Took off in quite a hurry. Something happen?"

"Yes White," Yellow put her hands on her hips and raised her eyebrow "tell her what exactly we've been doing."

White Diamond gave a small cough and shifted a bit, crossing one arm across her abdomen "Well... you could say we've been cleaning up some things. Things that we might've let get away from us-"

"Ya forgot a bunch of stuff and they had to help you with it, hm?" Spinel asked, causing White Diamond to recoil a bit.

"How did y-?"

"Well you guys dropped Spinette on us right before ya took off, figured it was because of other Diamond business that you needed taken care of." Spinel spread her arms wide and hugged White Diamond's cheek "And if anyone's got a bunch of urgent Diamond Bis, its-"

Spinel stretched her arm into a spiral before poking White Diamond's cheek, "-you~"

White Diamond pouted, but leaned her head to the side so Spinel could hug her more easily.

"So even she's got you all figured out." Yellow Diamond noted with a smirk before nodding down "We've decided that how we were doing it wasn't really effective, so with the help of these Peridots-"

"-and my Diamond's ever so loyal Pearl." Yellow Pearl stated, watching the Peridots disentangle themselves.

"We've decided to streamline the process." Yellow Diamond folded her arms again and resumed her pacing "Deal with these problems in a more efficient manner."

The Peridots managed to successfully get back to their feet, the moment they did Yellow Pearl's monitors floated back over to them. The Peridots began poking at the monitors again using the floating fingers of their limb enhancers to interact with them.

Yellow Pearl strode between the Peridots while glancing over each of them, "White Diamond recalls something, they look it up using my meticulously kept records, and I send out calls to relevant Gem colonies who are close to any potential problems. I work them through a solution, and we move on."

Spinel quirked an eyebrow at that, "Wait... you left us like twenty minutes ago!"

"And I already raised the efficiency of these tech gems by fifty percent." Yellow Pearl said with a small snicker as she reached out and patted one of the Peridots on the shoulder, "They had this one doing the calls before I showed up, you should've seen how awkward she was."

The Peridot in question flinched at that while tapping her fingers together, "I-I-it could've been worst!" she defended herself

"We get it, 4OI." the other two Peridots groaned at the same time.

Stepping past her, Yellow Pearl gestured for her own Monitor to float back to her, "Speaking of which, the construction gems have confirmed that the Palace columns are not, in fact, explosive."

"What?" Spinel turned to White Diamond, who waved it off.

"She just said they _weren't_, don't worry about it, darling."

"Yes well," Yellow Pearl tapped at her monitor a few times, "we can move on to-"

She paused and glanced to the side, noticing Eyeball quite blatantly looking over her shoulder, "Wait, don't we have you on a watch list?"

Spinel looked around, wondering when exactly Eyeball had made her way over to them. For someone so loud, she was ridiculously stealthy. Quickly leaning forward on White Diamond's shoulder, Spinel called out "She's my pal, Yelly!"

"Yelly?" Yellow Pearl was momentarily distracted, long enough for Eyeball to look over her monitor.

"So... you use this to talk to all Gems?" she asked suspiciously

Yellow Pearl looked down at her before raising her nose "Well, the Palace has numerous methods of contacting other Colonies, our Diamonds were masters at establishing communication networks during Era Two."

"Oh Yeah... pretty deep communications." Eyeball almost growled.

"I know" Yellow Pearl sighed in admiration as she rubbed the monitor "Doesn't such ingenuity look inspiring up close?"

Spinel wanted to hear more of their conversation, but she heard a "Psst!" growing louder in the corner of her ear. Turning, she looked down to Pink Pearl, who gestured for her to come over. Pulling away from White Diamond, she leaned up to say, "Looks like Pinks needs me, gimme a bit."

White gave a small hum, but nodded as Spinel hopped off her shoulder, "Oh very well," she sighed before turning back to Yellow Diamond "I suppose I should start next on that excursion through the celestial objects in Facet 6G42."

Pink Pearl walked to meet Spinel halfway, where she immediately reached out to take hold of Spinel's shoulder "Ma'am, I believe there may have been some miscommunication somewhere." she said before her eye trailed to the side "I was under the impression we were going to handle your... friend, in a different manner."

"Eh?" Spinel looked confused for a moment before grinning and slipping her own arm under Pink Pearl's "Well whatever, I'm sure this turned out way better."

Pulling Pink Pearl to her side, Spinel swept a hand down towards the Lower Court, "See? They'll be getting along in no time!"

Yellow Pearl had essentially slipped into a small spiel about the sleek functionality of gem-tech communication, smiling the entire time while Eyeball was doing her best to keep up with all the jargon involved.

"I... suppose so." Pink Pearl conceded while leaning against her, "We'll see, but I shall trust your judgement here, Lady Spinel."

* * *

Blue Diamond was literally at the edge of her massive tub, watching as Spinette and Blue Pearl danced along it's rim.

"And then we do this thing where I lift her," Spinette explained as she lifted Blue Pearl and spun her around "and then we pull away~!"

Nodding, Blue Pearl matched her footwork and stepped away, hands still locked together before being pulled back into a dip. They held that position for a while, then Spinette pulled her back up and tossed her over her head before spinning to the side. Blue Pearl folded her arms across her chest and angled herself right before landing into Spinette's waiting arms, both of them immediately looking up to Blue Diamond as she gave them an applause.

"You make it look so fun," she sighed before leaning back and raising a hand out of the water around her "Please, I can only hope my pool is equally as interesting."

Pulling away from Blue Pearl, Spinette looked over the edge at the water below, "Well... it looks fun enough."

Glancing back, she saw Blue Pearl give her a double thumbs up. Turning around with a shrug, she walked off the edge and fell in, where she immediately sank to the bottom of the tub. Upon reaching the bottom, she gave a curious look around before swishing her arms around. She waved them in front of her eyes for a bit before noticing Blue Pearl sinking besides her. She tried asking what they were supposed to be doing, but her words were garbled by the water around her. She tried again several times, forcing Blue Pearl to hold back a giggle as she wrapped her arms around her and began swimming up. They emerged before Blue Diamond, who quirked her head as Spinette proceeded to spit up several mouthfuls of water and smack her lips a bit.

"Tastes funny..." she noted before glancing back to Blue Pearl "... but you can fly through it?"

"Something like that." Blue Pearl said while holding her close, glancing up with a curious smile "Have you ever danced like that, My Diamond?"

Smile fading, Blue Diamond looked away, "I could have at one point." 

Raising an arm and laying it along the edge of her pool, Blue Diamond slipped her cheek into her palm, "Back when... well... when Pink was around, I remember times when she'd ask us to dance with her. We always used to have too much time for her, so she just... stopped after a while. White and Yellow never saw much point to it, even after she was gone. But I suppose I did it on my own after we lost her to... I don't know."

As she listened, Spinette felt Blue Pearl's arms tighten around her. 

"It's just one of the many regrets I've had since she..." Blue Diamond looked back down at them for a moment before smiling "B-But she had Spinel! Yes, she'd mention how much fun they had at their garden. I'm positive they danced together as well."

"Aw, I wish I could've seen that!" Spinette pouted, "Whenever me and Big Spin danced, she kept saying she was rusty and stuff. I don't know what it is but by golly, I wish I could've seen how she moved before!"

"I'm positive it was quite similar to how you do it," Blue Diamond leaned down towards them, idly swishing her fingers through the water "she was a lot more like you back then."

Spinette frowned at that, but turned her attention to the water "So... I'm in the stuff now, what games do ya play in it?"

Blue Diamond pulled back at that, eyes going wide for a moment before blushing, "Well, I do plenty of things in water." she said before raising a finger "But do you know what I like doing the most in it?"

Upon seeing Spinette shake her head, Blue Diamond leaned back and reclined further into the pool, the water levels rising around them as she rested her back against the edge and sighed. Blue Pearl had to swim back a little, her grip on Spinette unshaken. Spinette watched the liquid swirl around them a bit, feeling the dramatic build up for something amazing. But once the water settled and Blue Pearl swam them back in front Blue Diamond, she found herself growing more confused as time went on.

"Did you do it already or?"

"I'm doing it right now, this is my favorite way to relax." Blue Diamond explained, stretching her arms in the process "It's very soothing and so quiet here, like all my problems don't exist beyond these tiny little walls."

"Relaxing?" Spinette looked around them "So no games, then?"

"I know it's not exactly what you Spinel gems are made for," Blue Diamond looked down before giving a hopeful smile "but maybe you could try it out? See if you feel relaxed after a bit?"

"Well I guess, but only for a bit." Spinette assured while twisting around in Blue Pearl's grasp. Spinette reached up to grab Blue Pearl's shoulders before whispering, "How do ya do that floating thing?"

Looking up to her Diamond, Blue Pearl nodded before pulling Spinette away. As Blue Diamond resumed her relaxing, the two found a corner of the tub where Blue Pearl attempted to teach Spinette how to swim. The first few times, Spinette sank to the bottom of the tub again. After pulling her back up a few times, Blue Pearl eventually managed to get across some of the arm movements. Spinette managed to stay above water for a bit, but wound up clinging to her eventually.

"Aw come on!" Spinette bit as she flailed to Blue Pearl again, "Ain't there an easy way to do this?"

"Swimming isn't that hard, just gotta figure out how to- Oh!"

The explanation was interrupted as Spinette's hand inflated under them, raising them up as she cooed in delight, "Hang on! Better solution~!"she cheered as she spread out her fingers and stood proudly upon her impromptu raft "Why didn't ya tell me I could just puff up a bit?"

Blue Pearl leaned up at that, her legs dangling in the water, "I didn't exactly see it as a solution." she explained before backing up as Spinette crouched down to look at her.

"Hey! Wanna see if we can ride this around the entire pool?" she asked

Taking hold of her other hand, Blue Pearl pulled herself up, "That... doesn't seem like my Diamond's idea of relaxing." she noted as she sat in front of Spinette and folded her hands across her lap "But I suppose it _could_ be in it's own way."

"Layin' and playin just feels a lot better than flailing and failing." Spinette noted with a grin, looking over to see Blue Diamond still reclining in the tub with her head tilted up "Think she saw me messin' up?"

"Even if she did I'm sure she'd agree that it's endearing to see you trying to learn." Blue Pearl said as she leaned forward onto her hands and knees to poke at Spinette's puffy hand raft, eliciting a giggle from the shorter gem "You'll get it soon, I'll help as much as you want."

Unable to help herself, she poked at Spinette's inflated hand again several times, enjoying the giggles she released as a result. If Spinette minded in any manner, she didn't show it. Instead she stood upon her own hand and looked critically at the water below them, "You got ya'self a deal, buddy!" she said before giggling as Blue Pearl poked her again, raising her other hand to point at her in response "I'll help ya out with Yellow in exchange!"

Hearing that made Blue Pearl pause, looking up as Spinette turned and began poking at her own hand as well with her foot. Shaking off her surprise, Blue Pearl sat back before asking, "What do you-?"

"Ya ain't too good at playing with her, right?" Spinette jerked her thumb towards herself "Well I just so happen to be gettin playtime lessons from a master of the craft!"

She began walking in circles as she spoke, the arm that still connected her to her inflated hand stretching and coiling in her palm as she moved, "Passin' on a bit o' Big Spin's lessons'll probably do you wonders, right?"

Blue Pearl stared at her for some time, mouth twitching a bit before spreading into a smile again, "Y-yes... I'm positive this'll be sublime."

Spinette grew a cheeky smile before falling to her knees in front of Blue Pearl and giving her a thumb's up, "Ya darn right it will! Big Spin's lessons are foolproof I tell's ya!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, this one took a lot longer than expected due mostly to outside forces and partially due to burnout.
> 
> Neither of these are excuses, so I made sure to have this chapter be on the longer side in order to compensate. Its compensation I don't want to have to keep up, since I've got a bad habit of writing too much and risking rambling. Thankfully, I should be able to keep the next chapters short and sweet, hopefully getting back on a proper schedule.
> 
> Anyway, hope you enjoy, any and all criticisms positive or negative are welcomed in full so leave a comment if you are so inclined to do. Like it? Hate it? Any ways you feel I could improve? Expectations for the next chapter? All are welcome and I will see you all in the next Installment of Leftovers.


	7. Good Times Bad Times

Pink Pearl noticed the change in schedule almost immediately.

With the Diamonds back in the Palace, she returned to helping Spinel develop entertainment routines to perform. The major difference being that they tried using her performances to show Spinette 'the ropes' so to speak. Spinette was another thing entirely, she regularly left to hang out with Blue Pearl, but she and Spinel seemed to have difficulties separating each time. Even today Pink Pearl found herself standing on the sideline in between two pebble towers and watching the two struggle to leave each other's side.

"You sure ya won't need any of my help?" Spinel asked for what felt like the seventh time, rubbing Spinette's head, who was currently hugging her with all of her strength "Because me and Pinks could spare a couple minutes if ya really need it."

Spinette shook her head, rubbing her face against Spinel's cheek in the process, "Nu-uh!" she looked up with a grin "I know just what me and her're gonna be doin today! But... if ya want me to stick around and keep ya company for a bit, I can cancel on her."

"Now you went and made the plans with her, an Entertainer's gotta stick to a schedule, ya know?" Spinel reassured her before frowning "I'm just saying that if ya feel like ya need your um... need me around then I'm game."

"Oookaaay," Spinette looked around before pulling away a bit, but stopping to take hold of Spinel's hands, "Just know that you only gotta say my name and I'll come runnin', best buddy!"

"Well what if I say it on accident!?!"

Pink Pearl proceeded to watch them go back and forth like this for another ten minutes. Despite the reservations being blatant, Spinette finally walked off while waving back to Spinel the entire time. Spinel waved too, lowering her hand only when Spinette stepped out of the room and disappeared down the hall. Letting her arm fall to her side, Spinel released a sigh before turning back to see Pink Pearl staring at her. She gave a look around before shrugging, "What?"

Pink Pearl leaned towards her with an expectant, "Hmmm?"

Spinel threw her hands up, "Okay I get it, we just don't like bein' apart from one another." she said while walking in circles, she paused to jerk a thumb towards herself, "She's like a better version of me, okay?!? I can't help it!"

"Youth does not immediately equate to an improvement, Lady Spinel." Pink Pearl noted "She severely lacks the experience of a professional."

"And that's supposed to be a bad thing?!?" Spinel gripped hold of the sides of her head "She gets to just enjoy making folks happy and cheery while I'm over here losing my mind over pointless stupid stuff! Doesn't have to even think about living a life without me, or being alone or anything!"

"Which only speaks volumes of how lucky she is to have a best friend like you to care for her." Pink Pearl stepped and took hold of Spinel's shoulders "She believes in you, that's all."

Spinel sagged a bit, "But if she never even considers it, she won't be ready if something happens to me."

"To be frank, I'm not sure I'd be ready if something were to happen to you." Pink Pearl admitted as she rested her head against Spinel's back.

Spinel didn't say anything to that, growing silent as Pink Pearl leaned against her. Despite her words, Spinel couldn't exactly picture Pink Pearl being unready for anything. She always seemed so sure of herself and chock full of ideas. Even when she was asking to help her out, Spinel had considered her requests far from desperate or confused. She was a Pearl, and all gems knew that they were practically made for being on top of things. Spinel had seen it with every Pearl she'd ever known. Even if she came up with a bad plan, Spinel was convinced that it'd work in some capacity under Pink's supervision.

After several moments, Pink Pearl finally added, "I suppose you'll just have to trust us to move on from such an event."

"Yeah..." Spinel muttered as they momentarily slipped into silence again, broken only when she licked her lips and looked up, "I wanna bite something."

Pink Pearl pulled away at that, "Excuse me?"

"I don't care what it is, just feel like biting and eatin' something." She looked away and gave a little snicker "Back when I was... well, during my whole attack Earth thing, I remember eating something sweet and tasty. Haven't really thought about it until now but... I wanna try that again."

She moved to stand, only for Pink Pearl's hold on her to tighten, "H-hold on, you mean go to Earth? You can't!"

"I never said that!" Spinel defended as she pulled away from her "I ain't exactly itchin' to run over there, Pinks. I was just gonna ask around for some soft stuff to chew. Lotsa things I could bite into before... before makin' a fool o' myself trying to go there."

"The last time you did such a thing was during your stint on Earth?" Pink Pearl looked around for a moment before tightening her hands to her chest "I must recommend you don't do that either. With the recency of this bout of worry, you could make yourself feel worst."

"Now hold on, what?" Spinel shook her head before stretching an arm over to a nearby window and pointing out of it "I said I WASN'T going to Earth! Ya make it seem like I'm gonna relapse or something and just start goin' crazy!"

"I never spoke of such! I just hate seeing you upset, and to even risk such a thing isn't..." she paused for a moment before looking down "It isn't pleasant."

Spinel groaned before approaching her, "Look, Pinks, ya know I love ya. I trust you with so much that other gems would probably call it stupid or somethin'." she gave a little laugh at that before frowning, "But if you's about to start telling me that I'm not able to handle sinking my chompers into things, then we're gonna have some problems."

"You know I just don't want you in any kind of trouble." Pink Pearl said carefully

"The whole point of my Gem is _gettin'_ into trouble!" Spinel spread her arms wide until they began doing loops in the air "Ya know? Mischief, laughs, roughhousing, fun?"

"But I can't lose another-!" Pink Pearl cut herself off, locking her jaws tight whilst holding a hand up to her mouth.

"Another what?!?" Spinel spun around and began tugging on one of her pigtails in annoyance, "That doesn't even make sense, Pinks. What would you-!"

Her words died as she paused, thoughts cycling back a bit as she mulled over Pink Pearl's words. She looked down, eyes darting around for a moment, "Wait..."

"I'm sorry!" Pink Pearl said quickly while trying to approach her "I misspoke, you know that I-!"

Spinel held a hand up in front of her, eyelid twitching a bit before she tried smiling through the sudden blossom of anger rising up inside her, "What? Noooo!" Spinel said as her smile tightened, hand trembling as she stepped backwards away from her "No no, I should've_ known_. I mean, the Diamonds keep me around to remind them of Pink Diamond, so of course you-"

Spinel shook her head before bonking herself on the head with her fist a few times "I mean here I am thinking ya just wanted someone to serve, but I should've known who you _really_ wanted!"

Pink Pearl held a hand out for a moment before lowering it, "Lady Spinel-?"

"Oh ya don't need to _Lady Spinel_ me, Pinks!" Spinel practically seethed as she put her hands on her hips and looked up to the ceiling "I'm fine! ABSOLUTELY fine!"

"But... I can feel you trembling with rage."

"Well how am I SUPPOSED to feel!?!" Spinel shouted whilst walking away and kicking at a nearby wall "I mean the Diamonds were all up front about things! But you! Oh You! You were different!"

"I _am_ different, Lady Spinel!" Pink Pearl insisted "I wasn't trying to imply-!"

"I-!" Spinel interrupted before turning away and letting her arms droop "Need some time. Can't really focus right now."

"You're upset, I know and I'm sorry." Pink Pearl tried approaching again "Maybe I can-"

"What you're gonna do is stay here and give me some space!" Spinel shouted as she continued walking away "You can consider that an order!"

The moment she said it, Pink Pearl felt herself locking up, hand grasping at her elbow uncomfortably as Spinel walked off. She didn't pursue, something that Spinel felt no little gratitude for. Honestly, she was feeling far too volatile at the moment to know how she'd react if Pinks tried following after her. She focused on calming down as much as she could, because really... she should've seen this coming. Obviously Pinks wanted the same thing she had with Pink Diamond, why else would she come seeking her out? Spinel felt childish, stupid and embarrassed for thinking that she alone was something worth seeking out. Her time with the Diamonds should've prepared her for something like this, but if anything, it almost made her feel worst.

She knew the Diamonds, knew how they operated and how they acted. She liked to think she was even something of an expert when interacting with them. Their actions were pretty straightforward when looking past the insane amounts of power each one of them wielded. Maybe that's what had made her so cocky with Pinks, thinking she had her figured out. Just an old servant trying to get back into her groove. The thought almost seemed humorous in hindsight.

But she wasn't laughing.

In fact, thinking about her almost made Spinel wanna break something even more. She couldn't do that in the Palace, even if the Diamonds would probably find it amusing, Yellow Pearl would never let her live it down.

But in her aimless, angry wanderings she eventually came across familiar voices. Having made it close to an Atrium, Spinel initially held one hand over her eyes as light poured from the room beyond. At a corner next to entrance to the Atrium were both Spinette and Blue Pearl. They were peaking around that corner into the Atrium, whispering about something as Spinel approached.

"Just gotta be all kinds of relaxed yet invested! She likes gems that are invested!" Spinette nudged Blue Pearl, who nodded.

"You're right but- I just know that she'll turn me down again!" Blue whined whilst letting herself lean closer to Spinette "And you've been trying so hard. I-it just feels like I'm letting you down."

Spinette reached a hand over to rub at Blue's head, "Hey now, the plan's just to get her all loosey-goosey, got it? Just knowing that you're offering should make it easier for us to reel in the friendship fish!"

"But... you still don't even know what a fish is."

"I know that it fits with buddy analogies!" Spinette winked at her "That's all it needs!"

"That... wasn't an analogy." Blue sighed despite smiling at her, the sight of which only made Spinette's grin widen. That grin faded as a familiar squeaking sound reached her ears, and she spun around before gleaming.

Spinel barely got in a word of greeting before Spinette practically flew into her arms.

"I knew you needed me!" she cheered as Spinel spun around from the impact, "Knew it! Knew it! Knew it!"

"Wait a min- You don't even know why I'm here!" Spinel struggled to get her footing as Spinette hung off of her.

"Doesn't matter, doesn't matter~!" Spinette sung before leaning up and interrupting Spinel's next words by peppering her cheek with kisses.

"Ah-!" Spinel worked to slip her hand in between their faces and hold Spinette back, "Geez relax already. Just wanted to watch ya'll do your thing!"

"Oh!" Spinette leaned back and clapped as she spun back to Blue Pearl's side and leaned past the corner, "Come on then! See see!"

Raising an eyebrow, she joined the two in peering around, immediately noticing the five gems in the middle of the Atrium.

Yellow Pearl stood conversing with the other gems watching her intently, occasionally gesturing to a floating screen beside her as the symbols on it shifted with her movements. Spinel recognized it immediately as one of the classes that the trio of Peridots had talked Yellow Pearl into giving them. Over the course of their days at the palace, those Peridots had grown more and more desperate to impress Yellow Diamond with their helpfulness. They'd been asking Yellow Pearl for help in this regard and she was more than willing to provide, the idea of flaunting her immense wealth of knowledge was too self-appeasing for her to ignore. Now they regularly met whenever they weren't helping the Diamonds, their lessons often revolving around Yellow Pearl explaining things and the Peridots gawking at her sheer capability. They were using smaller screens, trying to recreate the motions and codes that Yellow Pearl was writing with varying degrees of success.

Spinel glanced from Spinette and Blue Pearl back to the lesson taking place, trying to figure out what exactly they were doing. Spinel knew for a fact that Spinette wasn't exactly the type of learner who just sat down and listened, but it wasn't like Yellow Pearl would turn down the chance to show off for more gems if they asked. 

"She's almost done," Blue Pearl whispered before swallowing nervously "a-are you sure that it'll-?"

"Ya both gotta get used to chattin' all casual like." Spinette whispered more enthusiastically "You said it was working, right?"

"Well she looks at me more, but..." Blue Pearl didn't finish, going silent before smiling at Spinette "alright."

"-and with that I think we can conclude the lesson of the day," Yellow Pearl said whilst folding her arms behind her back, "any questions to finish off?"

Almost immediately, one of the Peridots' hands shot up. Yellow Pearl's smile faded as she rolled her eyes, "Ugh... yes, 4OI?"

Peridot 4OI immediately pointed next to her, "She keeps copying off of my screen!"

Sitting beside her was the fourth of Yellow Pearl's students: Eyeball.

"I'm doing nothing of the sort." she stated whilst blatantly leaning over the Peridot's shoulder "She's spreading rumors, ma'am."

"They can all see you!"

"They're seeing me being a thorough and eager student, obviously."

Yellow Pearl massaged the sides of her head, "4OI, what does it even matter that she's looking at your screen? You all came to learn from me. If looking at your screen helps her do that then just leave it."

"Yes!" Eyeball nodded furiously "And uh... try writing a little clearer, I can't quite see-"

Peridot 4OI stood up and jabbed a thumb at herself, "Why can't ya look at someone else's then!?!"

"Don't put her on us!" one of the other Peridots shouted "It's not our fault that you speak clod!"

"I don't-!" 4OI tried to defend herself, before noticing Eyeball peaking over at her screen again and jerking it away with a hiss.

Spinel nodded, clapping Spinette on the shoulder, "Okay... I think I'm seeing the entertainment here."

If she had known that Yellow Pearl's boring diatribe about tech and stuff would often lead to her students arguing like this, she would've been way more interested. In hindsight, Spinel should've seen this kind of thing coming. Eyeball was a soldier gem, a notably aggressive one at that, so keeping up with Peridots in terms of understanding technical concepts was bound to be a challenge. But after all the work Eyeball went through convincing Yellow Pearl to let her join the class, Spinel had been convinced that she would stay covert whilst trying to figure out Yellow's lessons. But this whole situation with 4OI right here was classic Eyeball.

"It's pretty funny, yeah." Spinette tilted her head before leaning it against Spinel's "But we're here for something else~!"

Yellow Pearl spent a few moments watching 4OI and Eyeball argue as the other Peridots snickered, massaging the side of her head until she clapped loudly and silenced the four of them, "Okay, since putting up with you two has consistently been the worst part of these little get-togethers, I'm stating right now that this cannot continue."

Though Eyeball and 4OI glared at each other for a moment, Yellow Pearl continued before either of them could speak.

"I don't care how you do it, but you two need to make peace or I will not be including you in our next meeting."

"What?!?" Peridot 4OI gasped before pointing wildly "B-But she-!"

"Excellent idea, Ma'am!" Eyeball gave Yellow Pearl a salute "As a good and loyal student I am always impressed by your suggestions, honestly!"

Peridot 4OI fumed, "Don't pretend this isn't your fault, clod!" she shouted before shoving Eyeball away from her. 

Catching her footing, Eyeball narrowed her eye, "Come on, you're the one who keeps overreacting, admit it!"

"Hash it out if you have to," Yellow Pearl sighed again and turned to walk away "just stop making it my problem."

As Yellow Pearl distanced herself from the other gems, Spinette gasped and began patting at Blue Pearl's shoulders. They shared a wordless look before Blue slipped out to intercept Yellow Pearl. Spinel gave Spinette a confused look, still unsure of where exactly they were going with this whole spying thing. Spinette just nodded towards them expectantly, with Spinel leaning over her to get a better view.

Yellow Pearl seemed eager to block out the sounds of arguing behind her, as she hadn't taken note of Blue Pearl's approach until she called out to her, "Hey!"

Just like that, Yellow's head snapped up before relaxing at the sight of Blue Pearl, "Oh, greetings. Was there an issue with our last transmission?"

"What?" Blue Pearl shook her head "No, I was just coming to see if you were free to... ya know?"

"I... know?" Yellow raised an eyebrow

Blue Pearl glanced behind her, seeing Spinette give her a double thumbs up. Turning back to Yellow Pearl, she smiled and continued, "I was wondering if you'd like to hang out... with me, maybe?"

"You-?" Yellow Pearl shook her head "I couldn't possibly, there's so much I have to-"

Yelling behind her brought her attention back to 4OI and Eyeball, who had devolved from arguing to straight up wrestling in the middle of the Atrium. The snippy comments from the other Peridots did nothing to lower their aggression, with Eyeball finding her way onto 4OI's back much to the technician's dismay. 

"You two better not break anything!" Yellow Pearl shouted before closing her eyes and looking back to Blue Pearl "You know what? I shall partake of your offer."

"Really?" Blue asked in surprise 

"Let us go with haste." Yellow stated as she walked past her

Blue Pearl opened and closed her mouth several times, "O-of course!" she said while rushing to catch up, pausing only to match Spinette's thumbs up with one of her own. As soon as the Pearls were out of sight, Spinel followed Spinette out from behind the corner with her arms folded.

"Sooo.... what was the play here?" she asked just as Spinette clung to her arm.

"Ain't it grand? I'm helpin' them make friends just like you was helpin' me!" Spinette cooed while rubbing her head on Spinel's shoulder.

"Huh, well I guess you's learning faster than I thought ya was." Spinel mentioned as she watched the Pearls take their leave " I guess if ya managed to work that thing out, then you're doing swell."

Spinette pumped her fist in victory, only to pause mid-way through upon seeing the look on Spinel's face, "Are you okay, Big Spin?" she asked, leaning closer to get a better look, "Ya seem down!"

"Huh?" Spinel raised an eyebrow before waving her off "Nah nah, I'm good. It's just... Pinks and I may have had a bit of a fight and-"

Spinette gasped and took hold of Spinel's arms "Fight!?!" she looked her over frantically "She didn't hurt ya, did she?!?"

"No she-" Spinel paused before looking to the side with a groan "Not in that way, at least."

"W-Well do ya wanna play somethin' to make ya feel better?" Spinette stammered out, "Blue's gone off with Yellow so I can do whatever you need!"

Spinel put her hands on Spinette's shoulders, "Look, all I needs right now is some time away from Pinks so's I can calm down." she explained "Ya don't have to go bending over backwards tryin' to-"

"Would that work though?" Spinette asked with a suspicious look in her eyes.

Spinel was about to explain why that wouldn't when a cry for help made both of them look back to Eyeball and Peridot 4OI, who looked to be losing their bout of wrestling. Despite the height provided by her limb enhancers, once Eyeball got on her back it was all downhill from there. Now she was rolling around trying to dislodge the Ruby, reaching out towards the other Peridots as her anger changed to panic.

"D-Do something, she's gonna break my limb enhancers, I know it!" she called out whilst trying unsuccessfully to stand

The other two Peridots shared a look momentarily before one put a hand to her chin in thought, "I don't know, the Pearl said you two needed to make peace. I'd hate to get in the way of that goal by interrupting the Time-Honored tradition of Ruby Wrestling."

"What!?!" 4OI shouted

"Indeed," the other Peridot pointed out "engaging with your clod-friend on her own level should prove key to meeting the Pearl's request."

"Oh no," 4OI growled as her eyes narrowed "you two will NOT just leave me here!"

The two Peridots looked to each other before turning and walking off.

"Its impressive seeing you interact with other gems so readily, really showing off that Era Three spirit!" one of them called back as they both started snorting with laughter.

"ALL OF MY HATE!" Peridot 4OI yelled after them before her head jerked forward as Eyeball peaked over it.

"HA! Your comrades are even bigger traitors than mine!" 

"Get off!" 4OI shouted whilst trying to pry Eyeball off again.

Spinel rolled her eyes before moving Spinette out of the way and strolling forward, "Come on, they're gonna start actually fighting at this rate."

With both of them working together, they managed to wind their limbs around the combatants and yank them away from each other. Spinel and Spinette backed away from each other with Eyeball and Peridot 4OI in their respective grasps. Eyeball struggled for a bit before looking up and recognizing Spinel, immediately going lax and grinning, "Oh, its just you, Soldier. Find anything knew to report?"

"Well I found out you've picked up bullying tech gems, does that count?" Spinel tilted her head to the side.

"Unhand me!" Peridot 4OI shouted back to Spinette

"Awe, but ya look like you could use a hug~" Spinette offered, with 4OI fuming as her left arm enhancer's fingers stated shifting and glowing green

"Let her go, Spinette." Spinel called out.

Spinette giggled and loosened her hold, allowing Peridot to slip out and spin to aim her arm at her. Spinette leaned towards the pulsating green radiating from her fingers, "Oooh, how are ya doing that?" she asked while reaching out to poke at it

"Stay back!" Peridot shouted as she backed away "Just all of you stay back!"

She spun around and pointed to Eyeball "It's bad enough that I have to put up with that menace! I will not stand here and be manhandled by any gem that just wanders by!"

Peridot looked as though she wanted to say more, but paused upon hearing a tapping sound. She glanced down to see Spinette tapping at her legs curiously, and quickly backed away, "Stop it!"

"But how do they work?" Spinette asked again before waving her arms around "My arms can't do any of that glowy stuff!"

"Because you aren't wearing limb enhancers." Peridot tried explaining

"Well where do I get em?"

Peridot slapped her hands against the side of her head "Don't you know anything about Gemtech?"

"Not a thing!" Spinette admitted with glee

Spinel and Eyeball watched Peridot 4OI struggle to explain to an increasingly excited Spinette for a moment until Eyeball leaned up to look at her "So I see you brought your double with you."

Spinel looked down at her with a glare, "Don't call her that." she stated before tilting her head "Why would you even point that out?"

Eyeball shrugged before looking away, "Well usually I see you walkin' around with that Pearl O' yours, soldier. But she ain't nowhere to be seen now is she?"

Spinel frowned, "Me and her are kinda dealing with something."

"Should I even ask?"

"No!" Spinel snapped before setting her down and folding her arms "In fact, _I_ should be the one asking why you're spending so much time arguing with _her_." Spinel gestured to Peridot 4OI "I mean, ya spent so much time talking about how grateful you'd be learning from a master, kissing up to Yellow and stuff. And where do I find you after finally getting what you were looking for? Making a scene. Not very covert, soldier."

"It's not my fault!" Eyeball insisted before giving a look around and leaning towards Spinel "The enemy's encrypted the information so I can't figure it out. Using complex words and notions in order to hide the truth from us!"

In other words, she really couldn't keep up with Yellow's lessons. Spinel was actually impressed that she'd managed to work it into her conspiracy theory so cleanly.

"I needed a code-breaker, an in-between! And... well..." Eyeball jerked a thumb behind her towards Peridot 4OI "The other Peridots don't seem to like chatting with her, so she always ends up next to me." 

"Well that doesn't mean ya have to fight her."

"Fight?" Eyeball gave a confused tilt of the head, looking around for a moment before asking "Were we not just enjoying the Time-Honored tradition of Ruby Wrestling?"

"No we weren't!" both looked up as Peridot 4OI stomped towards them, keeping her glowing fingers aimed at Eyeball as a ball of energy started forming at the tip of them "I don't know where you get off making me look like an amateur in front of everyone, but don't think I'm gonna let it slide!"

"Hey, tone down the yelling," Spinel said with a frown before pointing to her arm "and stop waving that thing around like that. Yellow said not to break stuff, and I'm pretty sure that'll break somethin'."

"Oh and now you're gonna' try telling me this is all my fault!?!" Peridot 4OI turned her enhancer's cannon towards Spinel "Gonna try sticking up for that pin-sized clod!?!"

"No I'm-" Spinel had to blink a bit as the radiant orb of Plasma was far too bright for comfort up close "I'm just tryin' to-"

"To what huh!?!" 4OI hissed before Spinel's hand shot forward and wrapped around her arm, aiming it up and out of the way as Spinel's face stretched forward and pressed up against her's.

"I SAID TO STOP WAVING THAT THING AROUND!" Spinel shouted in her face "I'm tryin' to talk this junk out! So don't make me wreck your stuff!"

"H-Hey!" Peridot tried pulling her arm back to no avail, her voice far less impact without her Arm Cannon in the way "W-what are you-?"

"Do I make myself clear?!?" Spinel asked

"Y-...Yes!" Peridot 4OI squeaked as the glow from her arm cannon fizzled out.

"Good." Spinel released her arm before her head spun back towards Eyeball "You!"

"Hm?" Eyeball blinked "Me?"

"Tell her you're sorry, right now!" Spinel said while jabbing a finger at Peridot

Eyeball looked at her own hands with confusion before raising them to her sides in a shrug, "I'm sorry?"

"Good!" Spinel threw her hands up in the air before stomping off, "So glad to help mediate!" she shouted before sitting down and crossing her arms.

Peridot wasted no time in hiding behind Spinette, who was watching the entire debacle with confused interest. Spinette tapped her foot a bit as she murmured, "Wow, I've never seen friend-making like this before!"

"She's out of her mind!" Peridot called out whilst peeking from behind Spinette.

Spinel ignored it, focusing more on calming herself down before she made a fool of herself again. She'd been agitated ever since that falling out with Pink Pearl earlier, but she'd thought she could just get over it with enough time and distance. Yet here she was, throwing a hissy fit and feeling terrible just like Pinks said she would. What if she really couldn't handle eating things? Had Pinks been right to shoot down her idea like that? Thoughts like that made Spinel wipe at her eyes as she tried to cool off.

"Hey."

Spinel glanced to the side to see Eyeball looking down at her, "I get the feeling that this issue with your Pearl ain't as small as you're making it out to be. Which is fine, but you're kinda putting our cover at risk."

"Right..." Spinel leaned back and looked to the ceiling of the atrium "...my cover."

Eyeball put a hand on her shoulder and smirked, "Lucky for you, if there's one thing I know best its how to let off some steam. And you look like you could use a full course o' that!"

Spinel didn't say anything, merely looked at Eyeball as she kneeled next to her.

"You think that just because I'm dancing to the Enemy's tune that I'm not angry about what they've let happen to our people? That I've mellowed out to meet their expectations?" Eyeball shook her head and frowned "That couldn't be further from the truth. I've never been more enraged in all of my life. Being so close to the source of Gemkind's misery yet unable to find it's gotta be one of the most infuriating things ever!"

She leaned forward "But I've been letting all that anger out where nobody could see me, where I can be as angry as I wanna be without nobody giving me trouble for it. Maybe you'd want to join me sometime and see if it helps?"

Wiping at her eyes again, Spinel wordlessly nodded as she stood up.

"Great!" Eyeball shouted as she turned and started marching off "We can even bring the Double and the techie as well!"

At that Peridot 4OI took a step back, even as Spinette clapped with enthusiasm and ran to follow them, "If you think I'm going anywhere with you clods then you better think again!"

"Fine by me," Eyeball called back "we'll find another way to hang out, I'm sure. Ya know, so she doesn't kick us outta class?"

Peridot 4OI blinked several times before stomping her foot in anger.

To Spinel's surprise, Eyeball led them right outside the palace to one of the connecting walkways. It was there where she hopped onto the railing at the edge of the walkway before drawing her knife from her gem, she turned and gestured for them to follow before using the knife to begin climbing down the nearby building. Spinel raised an eyebrow up until Spinette peaked over her shoulder at the seemingly bottomless pit below.

"Hey Big Spin, what's down there?" she asked

"I dunno, its been a long time since I've been here." Spinel admitted as she stretched her hand to take hold of the railing "They changed a lot on homeworld, did you know the palace used to be the only big building around here?"

"No way!"

"Yes way." Spinel nodded before gesturing towards her back "Hop on."

Spinette squealed in delight before wrapping her arms around Spinel's back. Spinel rolled her eyes before hopping over the edge of the walkway and using her arm to stretch them down "Now they've got all these big skyscrapers and facilities everywhere. Sure the Palace is still absolutely massive but it used to be a lot more noticeable back in my day."

"I bet you could come up with all types of fun stuff to do with that!" Spinette noted while nuzzling Spinel.

"You'd..." Spinel looked down "You'd be surprised, Old Homeworld wasn't exactly my stomping ground."

"And it's becoming less like mine every day." Eyeball grumbled

Spinel looked to the side and realized they'd caught up to Eyeball, who was still scaling down using her knife.

"Everyday we move further and further from what we should be, soon enough it'll be completely unrecognizable to us." she said as she continued her descent

Looking down below them, Spinel asked, "So we're just going down, right?"

"Yeah," Eyeball nodded "but it might take a bit until-woah!"

Spinel reached forward and plucked Eyeball off the wall with her remaining hand "Just tell me when."

"When wha-?" Eyeball couldn't finish before Spinel started stretching even faster, their descent speeding up as Spinette cheered.

To Spinel's surprise, she noted them rapidly approaching the ground and slowed down so she could land. Spinette hopped off and immediately began running around her, "That was amazing! Can we do it again?"

"That depends," Spinel looked down, "Can we?"

She found Eyeball squeezing her one eye closed and gripping her head as she shivered bit. Spinel jostled her a bit to snap her out of it.

"Huh!?" Eyeball leaned up and looked around them at the far darker surroundings "Oh! Oh um, maybe later."

She hopped out of Spinel's grasp and brushed herself off before gesturing to the side "We're still not quite there yet."

"So where exactly are you leading us?" Spinel asked as they followed behind Eyeball, looking around at the notably lifeless ruins that seemed to dot the lower surface of Homeworld.

"I'd like to know the same thing!" a voice called down from above.

They looked up to see Peridot 4OI using her Limb Enhancer to hover down to them.

"Ah! So you decided to join us!" Eyeball laughed

"I'm just here to make sure you're not up to anything, leading Clueless and the Maniac around." Peridot pointed to her as she landed "I can only imagine the kind of trouble you're trying to get them into!"

Eyeball spun around with a grunt and continued marching forward, "I'm just trying to help my pal out with some repressed anger."

Spinel tuned both of them out as she followed Eyeball through a tunnel, looking around before locking eyes with Spinette, who was doing the same thing. Spinette smiled and nudged her, with Spinel doing her best to smile back when they emerged on the other side of the tunnel. Spinel looked forward, her eyes going wide as she immediately recognized the numerous holes lining the walls around them. Running along massive chasms and columns which crisscrossed everywhere.

The Kindergarten.

"Wow!"Spinette gasped before running forward "This place looks amazing!"

"What-?" Peridot flinched upon taking in the environment "Why would you bring them here!?!"

"I always come here when I need to let loose." Eyeball said before pointing over at a large rock sticking out of the ground and running towards it "Right here! Its my stabbing rock!"

"Your... what?" Peridot approached cautiously

"My stabbing rock," Eyeball ran her hand along it before pointing to a number of grooves cut into its surface "whenever I'm all bent out of shape and need to get it out quick. I just think of everything that makes me mad and-!"

She flipped her knife in the air before turning and stabbing at the rock repeatedly.

"You... you seriously just come down here to stab at a rock!?!" Peridot gestured forward

Eyeball paused in her rock-assault to call back, "Yep!" before returning to her stabbing.

"Well stop!" Peridot walked closer to her "Who knows what could happen with you tearing things up down here!"

"Relax." Eyeball waved it off before pointing "As long as we don't bust up that column or those two over there, we'll be fine. Wouldn't go out of my way to bury myself under rubble now, right?"

"That doesn't mean-"

"Give it a try, Soldier!" Eyeball called out to Spinel, who was staring at another column "Just keep an eye on those columns I pointed out and you can go as crazy as you want!"

Spinel stared at the hole-pocked wall nearby for a moment before looking down at her hand, she glanced at Eyeball for a moment before squinting her eyes a bit and swinging her fist into it. A few specks of rock came off, so she swung her other fist into it.

"Wow, you're really showin' those rocks whose boss, Big Spin." Spinette noted as Spinel stepped back and puffed her fists up a bit. She began swinging them against the wall over and over again. As the wall cracked and fell apart under her assault, Spinel tried not to think and instead let her emotions run wild. Eventually tearing a massive chunk out of it that fell to the ground beside her. To her surprise, Spinel actually felt pretty good afterwards, so she immediately looked for something else to wail on. Peridot watched as she and Spinette ran off to find more rocks to crush, groaning and glancing back to Eyeball with a pout.

"Well I hope you're happy, ya got the maniac all riled up." she stated

"You do a lotta complaining' techie." Eyeball rolled her eye as she continued stabbing the rock before her "And here I am just trying to invite you to some good ole fun."

"Fun!?!" Peridot flailed her arms as she gestured around them "What part of this wanton destruction could possibly be considered fun?!?"

Spinel had to admit that just punching stuff was more fun than she remembered. It was something she'd barely gotten to explore during her time on earth, as she'd been far too much of an angry mess to consider its entertainment value then. But now, in a desolate place like this with a bunch of pent up anger just waiting to be used, she found herself getting more and more into it the more she went. What were once regular old punches got more and more wacky as time went on, and soon Spinel found herself grabbing hold of her arm as her hand inflated.

"Hey hey, watch this!" she nodded back to Spinette as she raised her arm above her head and began swinging her fist around like a wrecking ball. She brought the fist down on several chunks of rock before swinging it into a lengthy one, which tipped over. She wrapped her arm around the falling rock before it could land, twisting and sending it spinning away before quickly bouncing in front of it and clamping her hands together as they inflated. The rock approached, and she could hear Spinette gasp from the sidelines as she swung her fists into the rock and sent it flying above her.

"No way!" Spinette called out

"Yes way!" Spinel shouted back as she spread her arms wide, only to bring her fists slamming into the rock's sides before it could reach her.

Spinette had to release a breath, the bewildered expression on her face hadn't left for what felt like eons. She tried as hard as she could to parse what was going on in front of her, because it was transfixing. She stared long and hard at Spinel, who spun around and laughed as fragments of the destroyed rock fell all around her. Spinette clutched at her chest as a surge of warmth spread through her, bringing a smile to her face. She couldn't understand why it happened, but there it was: A perfectly weightless smile spreading across Big Spin's face like a rainbow of joy. Spinette found herself hopping from one foot to the other over and over again as glee surged through her. She couldn't get enough of that look, so she immediately started looking around for a way to maintain it.

Spinel shook her head to get a few rock fragments out of her hair, then placed her hands on her hips as she surveyed the area for something else to smash.

"Big Spin!" 

Turning around, Spinel tilted her head as Spinette ran over with a boulder wrapped up in her arms.

"Try this one!" Spinette called out before tossing the rock at Spinel, who spun around and puffed up one hand before slamming it into the side of the rock and smashing it apart.

"Oh oh!"

While she'd been distracted, Spinette had scooped up a bunch of smaller, fist-sized rocks. As soon as she felt she'd gathered enough, Spinette stretched her arms before launching them into the air. She then threw herself onto her back before lifting her legs as the rocks fell down towards her. Her feet shot forward rapidly, sending each of the rocks sailing towards Spinel, who grinned as she ran towards the approaching stones. Releasing a giggle as fist met rock over and over, Spinel punched her way through the barrage, which lightened up quickly. When no more rocks fell, Spinette leaned up to see if she'd missed any. Instead Spinel tackled her, the two of them rolling for a while until Spinette wound up trapped in Spinel's grasp.

"Gettin' kinda brazen, ain't ya?" Spinel snickered as she gave Spinette a noogie, "Could've poked my eye out with that stuff."

"But look at how happy you are!" Spinette said while nuzzling against Spinel's gem "Come on, let's get more stuff! Please~?"

Spinel rolled her eyes and feigned a sigh, "Well, if you insist."

Peridot 4OI watched the two continue their trail of devastation with narrowed eyes, not helped at all by the repeated sound of Eyeball stabbing her rock right beside her. Even if it was just the old Kindergarten, even if Eyeball knew what she was doing, she couldn't help but feel agitated by the sheer carelessness on display.

"What if someone hears about this?" she asked as her eyes went down to Eyeball "I know its just the Kindergarten but-"

"Trying to go tattling on me, eh?" Eyeball smirked as she paused in her stabbing and glanced to her "Why not focus on the assignment, like I've been doing?"

"What?" Peridot shook her head and glared at her "What part of any of this is supposed to make me like you!"

Eyeball blinked before tapping her knife against the rock, "I got ya away from those other Peridots."

"Oh yes," Peridot stood back and crossed her arms with a low growl "because hanging out in this dusty old cave is leagues above engaging with my friends."

Eyeball didn't even try to suppress her chuckle, "I mean, they seem to spend all their time insulting you anyway, so-"

Peridot released a frustrated yell before turning her limb enhancer on a nearby column and blasting it. She let out several heavy breaths, her body trembling as she lowered the arm cannon. Before she could cool off, Eyeball's voice made her grit her teeth again.

"That's the spirit!" Eyeball called out, prompting Peridot to turn her arm cannon on the remains of the column and open fire.

Eyeball climbed atop her stabbing rock and gestured with her knife, "See, ya'll are getting it!" she laughed before sitting down and driving her knife down into the rock below.

Together, the four gems proceeded to spend the next two hours doing nothing but smashing stuff.

* * *

They walked in silence at first, but Blue Pearl was okay with that. Honestly, she was just glad to be outside of the Palace with Yellow like this. 

Throughout all of the millennia she could remember, the times when they hung out like this were sparse. Even after Era three began, Yellow always seemed to have something to keep her occupied. Yet here they were now, going out to do something together. She wasn't exactly sure what Yellow had in mind, but she couldn't really bring herself to care. Even just watching her out of the corner of her gaze as they moved was fulfilling in a way.

"So..." she leaned forward "Where do you want to go?"

Yellow raised an eyebrow "Oh? I was under the impression that you had something in mind."

"Well I-It's just that we don't really do something like this often." Blue Pearl said as they turned a corner and passed under an arcing walkway "I was just interested in trying some of your interests for a change."

Yellow stared at her for a moment before coming to a stop, "You know, I've been wondering about that. We're coworkers who've spent literal millennia together, yet you seem extremely focused on having even more interaction with me." she craned her neck to the side with a confused expression, "I find it... odd."

"Oh, so you noticed..."

"It'd be hard not to, really."

"Well," Blue Pearl shrugged "It's not like we did much other than work all that time. There's still so much we don't know about each other."

Yellow shrugged a she resumed walking, "Most of that stuff probably wouldn't have helped our work, so that's not really a surprise."

They made their way to a large bridge, above and below ships were occasionally passing on their way to different parts of Homeworld. Yellow Pearl paused to look at the ships for a moment, eyes darting to a pair of Onyxes nearby who were looking over the edge of the bridge. 

"But doesn't that mean we should work harder to learn that kind of stuff now that we're able to?" Blue asked as she came to a stop beside her, "You can only know so little about someone you've known for so long before getting curious, right?"

"I suppose." Yellow noted before glancing to her out of the corner of her eyes "Honestly, I'm surprised you haven't been using this new leniency to interact as little with me as possible."

"What?" Blue shook her head, "Why would you-?"

"Oh please, it's not as though I excelled at serving My Dia-" Yellow paused, frowning before starting again "serving _Yellow_ Diamond by making friends. I'm perfectly aware of how I've come to be viewed by other gems, I take my work with an absolute no-nonsense policy."

"Then let me get to know who you are when you aren't working." Blue insisted before gesturing around them "We can do whatever we want, remember?"

Yellow gave a small snort of laughter as she turned away and walked to the edge of the bridge, "Very well, though I must warn you that it will be underwhelming."

Leaning against the bridge's rail, Yellow looked down from it to two intersecting paths below running between two buildings. More precisely, her eyes went from one gem to another with occasionally giving a different hum for each one. Blue looked over her shoulder, waiting for her to do something before drawing closer and following her gaze.

After a few moments, Blue looked back to her, "And this is..?"

"Gem-Watching." Yellow stated.

"Gem-Watching?" Blue repeated

"Yes, staying at My-" Yellow took a breath before trying again "_Yellow_ Diamond's side for so long, I became used to keeping an eye on other gems as they worked. Over time I suppose I became apt at figuring out things about them by sight alone."

She leaned up and pointed, "Take that Obsidian for instance."

Blue followed her finger towards a Obsidian that was hefting a large column under one arm, occasionally looking around with concern,"She doesn't know where to put it, right?"

"No, she's worried about interrupting her superior." Yellow noted before shifting her finger a bit, "Every so often she looks towards that Nephrite, but isn't willing to interrupt."

On a platform near the Obsidian, a Nephrite was indeed in the middle of a conversation with a Jade. Just as Yellow Pearl said, the Obsidian paused for several seconds to look at her, but merely continued looking for a spot on her own to no avail.

"Wow, you noticed that near instantly." Blue noted.

"Of course I did, how would I be able to get..._Yellow_ Diamond's gems working at their full potential if I couldn't spot inefficiency?" Yellow Pearl raised her nose before her eyes went up, "Like how those Aquamarines are clearly flying too close to ship traffic, implying either impact or close-call in 3-2-1-"

Eyes snapping up to the gems in question, Blue caught sight of the two Aquamarines mere moments before a Roaming Eye passed right near them, the proximity was enough to make one of them spin through the air before flitting to catch herself with her wings. The second Aquamarine was quick to laugh, much to her companion's chagrin, and soon the two were floating down to another building.

"Ridiculous," Yellow Pearl sighed, tapping her fingers on the rail as her eyes went from gem to gem "though I suppose I should be impressed that nobody's destroyed anything important since the Authority went on hiatus."

Blue Pearl tapped a finger to her lip, "Well what about... wait..." she looked to Yellow Pearl "What do you mean, 'Hiatus'?"

"Hm?" Yellow looked back to her, "Oh please, you can't expect me to believe that this Era Three business will simply last forever, right?" turning back to continue watching Gems, she folded her arms on the rail "We shall enjoy the leniency for as long as it lasts, but once Era Four comes around I refuse to be inadequately prepared for it."

Blinking a few times, Blue Pearl took a step back, "But... why would that happen? The Authority is gone, Yellow. We don't have to worry about something like that."

"I pride myself on being pragmatic in all that I do. The Authority is gone because the Steven wishes it to be gone." Yellow explained as she turned back to look at her "We may get several centuries, even a few millennia if we're lucky, but the Diamonds will have no reason to hold back once he is gone. And unfortunately, organics are impermanent, extremely so compared to us. I intend to enjoy the time until then, but make no mistake, it is a time that doesn't feasibly seem ever-present."

Blue frowned at that, "You don't know that."

"I'm merely acknowledging a precedent," Yellow gestured to her "we've worked together long enough for me to know for a fact that there's no way you haven't considered it too."

"Well... yeah, but..." Blue's words trailed off for a moment before she shook her head "No... the Diamonds'll come to enjoy this just as much as the rest of us, you'll see."

"A possibility yes, but one that revolves around them growing accustomed to not putting their overwhelming power to use." Yellow nodded before turning back to resume watching Gems "I simply refuse to be anything other than perfectly ready if the more likely event comes to pass."

* * *

Eyeball's knife came down on the rock with less and less force, eventually she leaned against it to give a satisfied yawn before sliding down along its side and leaning her back against it. Soon she slid her knife back into her gem before leaning to the side to look around her rock, "Any of ya feelin' as good as I am right now?"

Behind the stabbing rock, piles of stone and broken blocks littered that section of the Kindergarten. Lying atop the largest of the piles was Spinel, who was reclining on her back with a relieved smile, "I gotta give it to ya, Eyeball... that was amazing."

"Speak for yourself." 

Walking between the many broken bits of the kindergarten, Peridot 4OI looked over the carnage with guilt marring her features, "I can't..._ believe_ that I let you goad me into joining your rampage!"

"Now you gotta admit that breakin' a bunch of stuff's got ya feeling better though, right?" Eyeball asked as she stood up 

"No!" Peridot folded her arms "I mean, who would enjoy something like this?"

"But I ain't seen Big Spin happy like this ever!" Spinette called out as she scaled Spinel's pile and fell next to her, looking her over with awe before hopping down "You must be some kinda friend-making expert, Eyeball!"

"Her? An expert?" Peridot 4OI shook her head "That's not even amusingly stupid. All she did was have us go around breaking a bunch of old rubble! I couldn't even imagine a greater waste of my time!"

Eyeball groaned as she stepped around her rock and leaned against it, "Well even if ya can't seem to appreciate a good outlet, mind not telling that Pearl about this?"

Peridot blinked at that, "What?"

"I'm saying that I'd rather be able to keep my stabbing rock," Eyeball gave that rock an appreciative pat "so how about you don't go blabbing."

Looking away nervously all of a sudden, Peridot 4OI crossed her arms tightly as she looked anywhere other than at her, "Well... reporting something like this would probably be pointless so-"

"Aha!" Eyeball pointed at her "Ya wanna keep coming down!"

"Wrong!" Peridot retaliated as she stomped over to her "I just... don't want any of you breaking those columns you pointed out. A cave in like that'd be horribly costly for-"

"Could just have them block us off," Eyeball said as she climbed atop her rock, having to look up at her even with the height it provided "be a whole lot less work for you."

"Well I-I wouldn't waste some other gem's time with something a simple as this." 4OI turned away "I'm more than capable enough to guard them on my own."

Eyeball rolled her eye and hopped off her rock, "Whatever you say, Techie."

Peridot fumed before chasing after her, with Spinel finally leaning up and shaking her arms. Kicking a piece of stone away, she stood up while brushing herself off, "Geez, those two could probably go on for a whole 'nother hour, right Spinsy?"

But for the first time in hours, Spinel found her chipper doppelganger wasn't at her side. She quickly glanced around, finally catching sight of Spinette running to catch up to Eyeball.

"Ya gotta show me your tricks!" she said as she leaned forward and smiled wide at the Ruby, "If I could make gems happy like that then-"

"I ain't no entertainer," Eyeball stated before flexing an arm as she walked "I'm a warrior, doing what warriors do. Don't confuse my battle prepping for one o' your games, Double."

Spinel slipped in between them and put an arm around Spinette, "She's right you know." she explained, "She just gave me a place to blow off steam, nothing in-depth about that."

"But... you looked so happy, Big Spin." Spinette pointed out, "Like, real happy. I ain't seen you smiling so carefree like that in forever!"

"Yeah well, I was-"

"An absolute lunatic?" Peridot offered

"No." Spinel glared back at her before releasing Spinette "I was just angry..."

At that she sighed, "In fact, I probably gotta find Pinks, let her know I'm over it before she gets worried or something."

Eyeball narrowed her eye at that, "You won't-"

"No, I won't tell her about the Kindergarten." Spinel shook her head, "Like ya said, I wouldn't wanna miss out on any of that."

Tracing back their steps, Spinel and Spinette split up with Eyeball and Peridot 4OI and began making their way back to Spinel's room. The moment the others weren't around, Spinel released a sigh before noticing Spinette circling around her as they walked. Spinette narrowed her eye, sticking her tongue out of the corner of her mouth as she concentrated.

"Whatcha up to?" Spinel asked

"Keepin' track o my best friend's needs." Spinette stated while twisting her arms and tapping her fingers against her own head "Gotta work harder if I wanna see ya smile like that again!"

Spinel shrugged, "Well how's about starting with helping me track down Pinks, eh?" she asked before folding her arms behind her head "She was with the pebbles when I stormed out on her, so they should be able to point us in the right direction, but-"

"She ain't gonna be there?" Spinette asked as they drew close to the room

Giving an amused snort of laughter, Spinel stretched her hands "As fun as the pebbles can be, I doubt they'd keep someone like her busy for hours." she said before slowing down "Unless..."

Spinel froze in the middle of the hall, going still as a statue as Spinette paused to look at her with confusion. Circling back in front of her, Spinette leaned forward and stared at Spinel with a confused tilt of her head, "Big Spin?"

But Spinel wasn't listening, she was too busy thinking back to earlier in the day. Running through her exchange with Pink Pearl with the clarity of relaxation that the stint in the Kindergarten had granted her. However, that relaxed vibe drained out of her face only to be replaced with panic as she began lowering her hands. Thinking over the very last words she'd shouted at Pink Pearl caused her to clamp her hands on the side of her head.

_Stay here and give me some space! You can consider that an order!_

"No..." she muttered to herself, the disbelief in her tone making Spinette draw closer.

"Big-?" Spinel pushed past her as she broke out in a run, racing to the door of the room with panicked ferocity. Her squeaky shoes nearly slid as she came to a stop before it, but she stretched out an arm to catch herself against the door before pushing her way inside. From the very moment she entered, she locked up.

She was still here.

Pink Pearl was walking from one large pebble tower to another, eyeing them up and down before glancing over and clasping her hands together, "Ah, Lady Spinel."

"You..." Spinel shook her head, arms pooling at her feet as she took a shaky step towards her "This whole time... were you waiting for me?"

"I didn't want to run into you until you were ready, but I've had plenty of time to come up with a proper apology for my slip up." Pink Pearl stopped before her and stood straight "You are not my Diamond, and my implication of otherwise wasn't warranted in the slightest. I understand why you would feel agitated."

Spinel just stared at her as she continued speaking, her hands opening and clenching as Pink Pearl folded her arms behind her back and bowed with her head hanging low.

"So I apologize for offending you, and can only hope that this will not effect our relations going further." she finished before leaning up and smiling at Spinel.

Spinel's expression hadn't changed, it was still taut with confused worry, "You... waited." she repeated slower

Spinette stepped around her before planting her hands on her hips and pouting at Pink Pearl, "She was just getting all happy-like, too!"

Pink Pearl's gaze lowered at that, "Oh... my apologies. I suppose I could've tried a different method to make up for-"

"No!" Spinel shouted before her eyes darted to her hands "I... You waited... I mean, I didn't want you to have to... wait... for..."

Words failing her, Spinel released a groan as she lowered her head. With slow steps, she strode forward until her head pressed against Pink Pearl, "...sorry."

Pink Pearl held her arms up for a moment as she looked around. Her gaze settling on a still-peeved Spinette, who began tapping her foot expectantly the moment they locked eyes. Pink Pearl lowered her arms and carefully placed her hands behind Spinel's head before pulling her close, "It's okay, Lady Spinel."

"Its really not," Spinel sighed before her hands stretched to wrap around Pink Pearl's waist "But thanks."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So as most will notice, I took myself a break from this story because I felt as though I was burning out. It was probably the schedule, I was trying to juggle too many projects at once and eventually felt compelled to put many of them on hold to focus on some IRL stuff instead. But I'm sure many of you will be happy to know that I've got no intention to leave this particular fic unfinished. So here it is, after quite a long time, Chapter 7. 
> 
> I decided not to really worry about Chapter lengths and just go ahead until things felt proper. Can't really tell if it worked better or worst than my previous posting strategy, but I'll let all of you be the judge of that. 
> 
> Anyway, hope you enjoy, any and all criticisms positive or negative are welcomed in full so leave a comment if you are so inclined to do so. Like it? Hate it? Any ways you feel I could improve? Expectations for the next chapter? All are welcome and I will see you all in the next Installment of Leftovers.


	8. It's Not Okay

Within the palace, two figures made their way through the halls while conversing with one another.

"I just wasn't ready for her to say something like that..." Blue Pearl sighed as she made her way to the Atrium with Spinette following behind "I mean, I know she's right... but thinking along those lines isn't exactly easy for me."

"Then don't!" Spinette clapped her hands together "Problem averted!"

Blue Pearl gave a smile before glancing to her side, "If only I could stop thinking about it so easily." she laughed quietly "But now that she's brought it up, I just can't seem to let it go."

Spinette pouted at that before stepping ahead of Blue Pearl and winding her arms together behind her back as she walked backwards, "Well maybe ya just need somethin' else to think of! How's about you lead the talkin' today and get her interested in something you like?"

"But..." Blue Pearl came to a stop before looking down "I really want to know more about her..."

Spinette unwound her arms and raised a finger before shaking it, "Hold it, hold it!" she said with a wink "Can't go one-sided when ya tryin' to be friends, Blue Buddy O' Mine!"

She looked around before leaning close and whispering, "Wanna know a friendly lil' secret?" she paused for a second before leaning in "There's gotta be give and take on both ends."

Spinette giggled before pulling back as Blue Pearl reached up and tapped her fingers together, "Okay... right. I'll try showing her some places I like to relax at."

"There we go!"

They found Yellow Pearl in the same spot as yesterday, teaching yet another lesson. In the center of the atrium, Yellow Pearl was projecting a number of images from her pearl before her students. While they were scrawling stuff down on their screens, two of the Peridots kept nudging each other and snickering at Peridot 4OI. Eyeball was still leaning over her shoulder and glancing between their screens, but 4OI seemed less inclined to point it out. Instead, she was focusing on her own screen while biting her lip angrily whenever the sound of those snickers reached her ears.

They'd arrived right on time, as Yellow took only a few more minutes before stopping the projection and folding her hands together. The moment she dismissed the class and stepped away, Spinette pushed Blue Pearl forwards excitedly. But even as she watched her stop Yellow Pearl on her way out, Spinette found her gaze being drawn away. 

"Hey!" Eyeball ran to catch up to Peridot 4OI and nudge her "I know you Perries can keep records in your limb things. Mind showing me what you got on that class?"

"No," Peridot 4OI muttered without even looking at her "just because I tolerate you doesn't mean I'd go out of my way to help you."

Eyeball narrowed her eye as she let Peridot 4OI get a few feet ahead of her before trying again, "How's about ya just give me an arm and I'll do it myself?"

That made 4OI stop and turn on her angrily, "I'm not giving you one of my limb enhancers!" she spat before crossing her arms "Not even for a second! You'll just break it!"

Eyeball stared her down for a moment before tapping her toe against the floor, "You know blasting columns don't feel the same as punching 'em with ya bare hands."

Peridot 4OI went wide-eyed at that, quickly shooting a glance to Yellow Pearl, still speaking with Blue Pearl.

She turned away, "T-that doesn't mean anything to me." she griped as she walked away

"Hesitation!" Eyeball pointed out as she rushed after her, "I could _feel_ that, Soldier!"

Spinette watched them make their out of the Atrium, then glanced over to see the Pearls doing the same thing. Blue shot her a thumb's up as she left, which Spinette returned right before she lost sight of her. With the Atrium cleared, Spinette strode out to the center of it. Halfway there, however, a voice called out from behind. Recognizing it, Spinette turned around with a smile which weakened the moment her eyes fell on the two gems which entered.

"Did I miss it?" Spinel asked before sagging a bit and smacking herself with her free hand "Dang it, got caught up in practicing this routine that Pinks came up with.'

Dragging her hand along her face, Spinel glanced to her side "Aw ya should see it, Spinsy! I was basing it off something ya did yesterday, but then she improved it tons!"

Standing beside her, Pink Pearl nodded "I'm sure my contribution to this particular routine was far less than your own, Lady Spinel."

"Nonsense!" Spinel said before leaning close "Don't go saying stuff like that, okay? I wouldn't be nothing without you! So don't go thinking I'd ever abandon you, okay?"

Saying that, Spinel nodded down to her other arm, which was tied around Pink Pearl's waist in a knot.

Pink Pearl shook her head before rubbing at Spinel's arm, "Ma'am, you know you don't need this to keep us together."

Spinel went wide-eyed for a moment before shaking her head, "Well yeah, but it feels better havin' the precautions and stuff."

Spinel smiled at that, but Spinette wasn't one to be fooled so easily. She might not have really understood what was going on between those two, but ever since Big Spin ran back to Pink Pearl yesterday, she'd been acting really weird. While Spinette had come to realize just how much Spinel treasured the Pearl's friendship, ever since yesterday she'd been practically showering her with praise. Spinette may have even been wowed by this new display of friendship, if only Big Spin hadn't started downplaying herself every time she did it. It didn't feel nice hearing Spinel talk badly about herself, but the smile had to be the worst part.

Spinel had a bad habit of giving sad smiles and trying to pass them off as genuine. It was something that Spinette had been trying to rectify for as long as she could remember, but now it was different. These smiles that Spinel was trying to make ever since yesterday, they looked as if they actually hurt to make. Spinette couldn't stand seeing them, couldn't bare to even look at her whenever she tried making them.

Even now her gaze immediately shifted over to the Pearl, who took note of the pout being aimed her way almost immediately.

"Well, I appreciate the concern..." Pink Pearl noted, glancing from Spinel to Spinette several times "Thank you, Lady Spinel."

Spinel nodded repeatedly before tugging her close into a side-hug and glancing to Spinette, "Hey hey, wanna check out that performance later? I think you'll agree that Pinks here did amazing once ya see it." she said before giving a shrug "I dunno if I'll be able to pull off something so awesome."

Spinette clutched her hands behind her back and rocked on her heels, "Well I dunno, Big Spin. I gotta go take care of something for Blue while she's out with Yellow." she said with a small whine rising in the back of her throat "I wanna be there for you-"

"No, that's great!" Spinel waved her off, giving a wink "Taking time for ya other friends, that's exactly what me and Pinks been tryin' to teach ya."

"Yeah... but I do need to tell her something." Spinette noted as she glanced to the floor "She was so busy with Yellow that I never told her where to meet up when she was done."

"Oh?" Spinel narrowed her eyes before gesturing to herself "Well if ya need, I could probably catch up before they leave the Palace."

"Would you?!?" Spinette went star-eyed "Then just tell her that I'll be practicin' my swimming at the pool later!"

"Right." Spinel nodded before taking a step away only to pause and glance back to Pink Pearl. She stared at her for a few seconds before Pink Pearl nodded to her.

"Go on, I know with your speed you'll be back in no time." Pink Pearl said while rubbing her arm.

Hesitantly, Spinel unwound her arm from Pink Pearl and began stepping back, "D-don't wait for me, got it!?!" she called out as she continued walking back "I'll be right back!"

"Of course, Lady Spinel." Pink Pearl nodded with a wave.

"I will be!" Spinel restated as she began turning a corner "I promise! I promise, I promise, I promise!"

As she repeated that, her legs quickly wound together into a coil right before bounced off.

Pink Pearl released a sigh the moment that Spinel was gone, turning to Spinette with a small smile, "I'm surprised she..."

She trailed off upon seeing that Spinette was pouting at her, squeezing her lips and eyes several times while trying to force herself to glare. Apparently fed up with her own efforts, Spinette just stepped forward and pointed at Pink Pearl, "What did you do to her?!?"

"I- what?" Pink Pearl put a hand to her chest as Spinette stepped closer.

"Ever since she hugged you yesterday, Big Spin's been actin' all wonky and stuff!" Spinette threw her hands into the air before clenching them into fists and hopping from one foot to the other "I don't know what you did to my bestest friend, but I ain't gonna stand for it!" 

Pink Pearl released a sigh, "Lady Spinel has a rough history, abandoned by someone she loved and left alone for a long time."

Spinette paused in her tantrum to look at her.

"I believe she see's our minor stint apart yesterday in a similar fashion." Pink Pearl closed her eye "She's... just trying to apologize to me."

"No!" Spinette stomped her foot on the ground "I don't care if its an apology! I can't stand seeing her hurtin' like that!"

"Hurting?" Pink Pearl tilted her head, only for Spinette's hands to clamp onto her shoulders.

"You can't see it?" Spinette asked as she shook her "Why can't you see it?!? Big Spin always said you was the smart one! Tell her ya don't care!"

"I..." Pink Pearl hesitated "I wouldn't even know how to-"

Spinette took a step back with her eyes going wide, "Do you _want_ her to be like that?"

"No!" Pink Pearl insisted with a shake of her head, clutching at herself as Spinette pouted at her once again

"Well ya ain't really showing it!" Spinette turned away an raised her hands in front of her, looking them over as her eyelids tightened "Big Spin shouldn't have to smile like that... she shouldn't!"

"I know." Pink Pearl looked to the floor "Its just that getting too emotional is what led to this in the first place... I got too lenient and forgot what my purpose was as a servant."

Giving a heavy sigh, Pink Pearl let her gaze wander, "I went and put that dumb idea in her head without even thinking about it and now... I don't want to mess things up again."

Though she maintained her composure, just thinking about yesterday made Pink Pearl's mind wander to all the ways she could've handled it differently. But she wasn't given long to focus on these many possibilities, as Spinette managed to home in on something she'd just said. It made her lower her hands and glance to her with confusion marring her features. She blinked several times as the meaning behind her words started to sink in. 

"Servant?" Spinette tilted her head in disbelief "Ain't you two friends?!?"

"Yes... in a way." Pink Pearl tried smiling with mixed results "Lady Spinel's been so nice letting me indulge in companionship like that, but I'm... not really built for being a real friend. It's just not for Pearls."

Pink Pearl had to close her eye for that last part, taking a deep breath. When she opened it again, she took a step back upon seeing Spinette staring at her with trembling shoulders. 

"So you..." Spinette trailed off for a moment, choking up as her eyes filled with tears "You've been lying to her?"

"No!" Pink Pearl shook her head as she stepped back "We're great companions and I adore her. I just don't think I could ever return her friendship properly as a-"

"Lying to Big Spin!" Spinette interrupted as she clenched her hands into fists and stepped forward "Now you's gonna just leave her hurting and not do a thing!?!"

Finally Spinette had managed to turn her pout into a legitimate grimace, eyes narrowing as she approached.

Pink Pearl began backing up, "I-I don't know if I'd be able to do it properly!" she insisted, unconsciously glancing from Spinette to her clenched fists "If I make things worst then I wouldn't-"

But Spinette didn't seem to be hearing at that point, already rearing back as she closed in. Pink Pearl flinched back and squeezed her eye shut in preparation as that fist sped towards her. She held her breath, each second stretching to an aching degree. But despite fearing the oncoming strike, Pink Pearl's tightened expression softened in confusion upon hearing squeaking sounds instead. Her eye fluttered open as that squeaking sound continued, slowly looking down to see Spinette punching at her repeatedly, her puffy hands releasing squeaking sounds each time they came in contact with her. Pink Pearl could barely feel them, the softness of Spinette's hands and her haphazard style of attack making her punches more akin to being attacked by clouds than anything else. Pink Pearl wasn't sure why Spinette's attempt at physical retribution was so negligible, but couldn't help but feel a little grateful for it.

Unaffected by the inefficiency of her strikes, Spinette just kept on swinging. Her sobs grew more and more pained the longer she went, full tears dripping to the Atrium floor as she tried to maintain her useless attack.

"Bad Friend!" she managed to cry out in between each strike "Bad friend! Bad friend!"

Pink Pearl's confusion turned in to a cocktail of pity and guilt, both emotions which grew in scale as Spinette continued. Eventually she slowly reached forward and clasped Spinette's next fist in her hands, the other gem gasped and looked up at her or a moment, still wracked by sobs as her other fist trembled at her side.

Pink Pearl looked to her and held her hand in her own, "I'm sorry."

Spinette's mouth opened and closed a few times before she choked up and yanked her hand back. Though Pink Pearl reached out to her, Spinette turned and ran from the Atrium while furiously wiping at her own eyes.

* * *

"Ya gotta use your wrists more!" Eyeball called down 

"I already tried that!" Peridot 4OI hissed back before glaring at the column before her. As infuriated as she was by her own inability, she had to take the time to admit to herself that she'd been played. Against every bit of her better judgement, the allure of the Ruby's words eventually led to her shedding her limb enhancers for a chance to try breaking things on her own. Of course, the moment she was on her own two feet, 4OI immediately returned to her senses and tried to suit back up. But Eyeball had taken her chance, climbing to the top of a pillar of rock. She'd hauled Peridot 4OI's limb enhancers up there with her, and had been demanding she retrieve them on her own.

But after the dozenth time she'd failed at even making it a few feet off the ground, 4OI merely pounded a hand against the column before backing up and glaring up at Eyeball.

"What's even the point of this! I told you I'd help with the stupid class, just give em back already!" she shouted 

Eyeball, still poking and prodding at one of the limb enhancers, paused in her confused analysis to set the limb aside and glare over the edge of the pillar, "It ain't about the work! No friend o' mine's gonna go running around relying on tech."

Peridot 4OI was taken aback for a moment before she frowned, "What are you talking about? We are not friends!"

"Well those two other Perries seem to say that a lot." Eyeball pointed out

Peridot 4OI folded her arms and looked away, "Well I don't have to care what either of those two clods say. They do not have a say over who I associate with."

"Either way, I don't follow none of that gear dependency that you Era two gems got." Eyeball continued before reaching up and pulling her knife from her eye "Without any gizmos or weapons..."

For emphasis she tossed the knife, with 4OI stepping back as it clattered to the ground beside her.

"Even without any of that extra stuff," Eyeball raised her hands and clenched her hands into fists before before patting her own arm with appreciation "I can _always_ rely on these."

"Well I was never meant to rely on brute strength!" Peridot 4OI called out before grimacing as she pawed at the column.

Eyeball gave a grumble before standing up and stretching. Setting the Limb Enhancers down, she leaped down from the column. Peridot 4OI flinched away the moment Eyeball landed beside her, but that apprehension turned to agitation upon seeing the grin Eyeball flashed her

"Well that's exactly what we're about to fix!" Eyeball snickered before gesturing to the column "Wanna enjoy some good ole' fists on rock contact, eh? Well we ain't ever gonna get there if ya go scrambling back to your toys after a few seconds."

"That's what you're trying to fix!?!" Peridot 4OI exclaimed before taking hold of Eyeball's shoulder and pulling "Okay, I've humored this stupidity far too much. Come on."

She attempted to yank Eyeball towards the column to no avail.

"Go and.. eugh!" she yanked harder on her "Get my limb enhancers already!"

Eyeball raised an eyebrow at her, watching as Peridot 4OI walked around her and tried pushing instead. Eyeball put her hands on her hips and locked her stance as 4OI pushed against her, scraping her feet against the ground with effort. 

Uninterested in the idea of trying to talk her into getting back to climbing, Eyeball was about to turn and make her way back up when she heard the sound of squeaking in the distance. She spun around and scanned for the intrusion, causing 4OI to trip and stumble to the ground. She got up with a growl only to follow Eyeball's wary gaze to the gem approaching them.

Still sniffling, Spinette looked up at them before coming to a stop and reaching up to wipe at her eyes.

"What are you doing here, Double?" Eyeball narrowed her gaze before looking past her "And without your better? That ain't something that happens often."

"I don't wanna be in the Palace right now." Spinette said with a pout before looking around "C-Can I stay here for a little bit?"

Eyeball merely stared at her, but Peridot 4OI intervened before she could give an answer. Releasing her hold on Eyeball, 4OI instead hopped in front of Spinette before angrily pointing a finger to the column behind them.

"Hey Clueless," she said before pointing to the top of the column "can you grab my stuff from up there?"

Eyeball glared at her "Gonna go trying to cheat now?"

"This isn't a game!" 4OI insisted as she tried to match her glare with one of her own "You tricked me!"

As the two began arguing, Spinette walked by to a nearby wall pocked with holes. Sitting against it, she slid down to the ground and merely watched as Eyeball nudged 4OI back to the column. As Peridot begrudgingly began trying to climb again, Eyeball turned on Spinette and marched over with a huff.

"I didn't say you could stay, Double!" Eyeball said as she looked her over "Who sent you? Where's our... mutual friend?"

Spinette curled up a bit at that, looking up at Eyeball before hesitantly speaking, "Have you ever... had a friend who you know isn't doing okay? Like they aren't acting alright?"

Eyeball paused at that, blinking in confusion as she stared down at her. After a few moments of silence, Spinette continued

"Maybe you don't know why that friend's acting differently, but you want to help them feel okay again no matter what?" Spinette tapped her fingers against the ground "But then you find out that the reason they're acting different is because of one of their other friends, one who they really like keeping around?"

Eyeball leaned forward and glared at Spinette, "Are you reading my mind, Double?"

"Aw, I wish I could do something like that." Spinette's pout deepened, "that sounds amazing."

Eyeball was about to continue her questioning when the sound of rocks being chipped made her spin around. In the time it had taken to question Spinette, Peridot 4OI had managed to get over halfway up the column. Eyeball was almost impressed by her sudden progress until she focused some more. While pulling herself higher with a grunt of effort, Peridot 4OI reached up with her other hand and stabbed a knife into the side of the pillar to assist her ascension: Eyeball's knife to be exact. 

"Hey... hey!" Eyeball shouted as she rushed over, "I said no cheating!"

4OI glanced down and gave small yelp as she tried forcing herself to climb higher.

Watching them for a moment, Spinette sighed. Maybe if she could read minds she just might be able to figure out the best way to cheer up Big Spin.

* * *

"Did you see that!?! That stunt was amazing!"

Pink Pearl glanced to the side, "Of course, Lady Spinel. Your maneuverability is always stunning to view."

"Sure but..." Spinel's head leaned towards her, "Don't go forgetting that smarty pants who went and set everything up, eh? You're the real star here!"

Pink Pearl gave a subtle wince at that, but merely nodded as Spinel snickered and reached for her. Her hand hesitated for a moment before wrapping around Pink Pearl's wrist instead of her waist, but she still smiled at her nonetheless. Pink Pearl searched that smile for any of the pain that Spinette had called out earlier, but alas... Spinel looked the same as ever. The thought made Pink Pearl doubt herself, but she didn't need an entertainer's intuition to note the change of her charge. They had just wrapped up a performance for the Diamonds, and Spinel's actions throughout were clear enough indicators on their own.

While it had originally been an idea that Spinel had gleamed from her time out with Spinette, the final product had only minor references to its original form. It was supposed to be an impressive display of legwork in both the traditional sense, and the Spinel sense. She'd attempt to form shapes out of small rocks which she would continuously juggle through the air using only her feet. That was it, and Pink Pearl had been extremely enthusiastic to get back to their more regular routine after the hiccups provided by her slip-up and subsequent encounter with Spinette. But then Spinel had asked for suggestions, insisting that her routine wouldn't be complete unless Pink Pearl had a hand in the design process. She'd thought nothing of this at first, and had been eager to give a little help. But Spinel was far more enthusiastic about her input that she'd anticipated.

Slowly but surely, as she was asked for more and more input, Pink Pearl had watched Spinel completely rework her entire routine from the ground up. It was barely recognizable from where they'd started off, now a sheer display of her stretching ability forming complex loops and bouncing maneuvers. Spinel was adamant that the performance would be one-hundred percent better thanks entirely to her. It wasn't as if it was a bad routine at all. In fact, seeing Spinel performing the motions required to bend and stretch her limbs into those shapes was a marvel that Pink Pearl would always appreciate. But an even greater signal to her change become blatantly apparent a few minutes in.

Spinel wasn't performing for the Diamonds, she was performing for her.

It was clear to both Pink Pearl and the Diamonds as Spinel proceeded with her performance. Ever time she completed a complex loop or formed a creative shape, it wasn't her intended audience that she would look to for approval, but Pink Pearl who stood off to the side the entire time. It wasn't even a subtle thing either, she would give compliments and thanks to her whenever she completed a move. Despite her reservations, Pink Pearl made sure to applaud whenever the Diamonds did, eyes going from them to Spinel several times throughout the performance. At first they didn't seem to care about her change, enjoying the performance for what it was. But as time went on Yellow and White Diamond both seemed to take note that Spinel didn't seem focused on their reactions. They began glancing to one another as their applause grew less enthusiastic and more confused.

When they both looked to Blue Diamond, who had still been giving it her all to cheer Spinel on throughout the performance, she gave them both a sharp look. Reluctantly but surely, White and Yellow Diamond applauded with more vigor. Thankfully, the performance came to a close shortly after. As Spinel gave a bow, Pink Pearl released a breath that she hadn't known she'd been holding. Though the Diamonds allowed them to leave with no mention of the odd performance, Pink Pearl felt as though they were staring at them the entire way out of the throne room.

When they finally made it back to Spinel's room, Pink Pearl made her way to the window the moment Spinel loosened her grasp on her. Turning around several times to look the room over, Spinel put her hands on her hips and stared at the ceiling for a moment.

"Guess Spinette's still hanging with Blue Pearl," she murmured before turning around "think we should check in on her?"

Pink Pearl didn't respond, and after a few seconds Spinel walked over.

"We don't have to, of course!" she was quick to say with a tense grin "We can do whatever you want!"

Taking a deep breath, Pink Pearl finally looked back to her, "Lady Spinel?"

Spinel paused, looking her up and down for a moment, "You feeling alright, Pinks?"

"I believe that you are not okay." she said carefully "And I am feeling very... very worried."

"What?" Spinel waved it off before reaching over and clamping a hand on Pink Pearl's shoulder, "I should be saying that to you!"

"No..." Pinks shook her head "This isn't... we never really talked about what I said, Lady Spinel."

Spinel stepped to the side and leaned against the window frame, "Oh come on, I told you that it was all water under the bridge. Nothing to go storming off on ya for."

Pressing her fingers together carefully, Pink Pearl lowered her gaze, "You're still making it about me, Lady Spinel. I'm worried about _you_. The way I spoke about you, I made it seem like you were just a stand in for-"

"I said-!" Spinel pushed away from the window before biting her lip and putting her hands on her hips "I said that I got over it."

"But I still shouldn't have said it." Pink Pearl insisted "And you shouldn't have to feel guilty about my lack of imagination."

Spinel raised an eyebrow at that, "Excuse me?"

"Ma'am, I assure you that I wasn't even considering your order when I sat in here for those six hours." Pink Pearl explained "I was too busy thinking up my apology."

Spinel frowned before pulling away, walking to the center of the room where several Pebbles scurried out of the way. She stood there for a moment before crossing her arms. Pink Pearl stepped away from the window and approached her,but she hesitated once she noticed Spinel tapping her foot in thought. That very same hesitation made her come to a stop and merely watch as Spinel began grumbling to herself. Pink Pearl was about to ask if she was okay when Spinel's grumbling ceased and she looked back at her for a moment. 

"It's not just about you waiting for me." she finally said with a heavy sigh "Its about me making that order in the first place."

She turned back around and looked up to the room's ceiling "I thought I was better than that, ya know? Even if I wasn't the smartest gem around, I never thought I'd be careless enough to even come close to making her mistake."

"But you came back." Pink Pearl stepped around her "You're not anything like her, Lady Spinel. You don't have to shove me to the forefront of your mind."

"You can't know that, though." Spinel raised her hands and looked them over before turning to Pink Pearl "If I can make that big of a slip up then all bets are off, Pinks! I don't think I can take that risk! The idea of even coming close to putting any gem through what I went through is just... just..."

Spinel was at a loss for words, trying to continue her rant but finding no satisfactory descriptor for just how horrid the mere idea of the thought was. Instead she just grunted angrily before bending her arm in order to bonk herself on the head several times.

Pink Pearl winced, her worries becoming realized right before her. She knew that she wouldn't be able to settle this properly, and already Spinel looked as though she was about begin another self-loathing trip. Spinette's tearful cries echoed in her ears, but Pink Pearl couldn't just falter at this point. Even if she was a bad friend, just leaving things here was a painful thought to consider. She had to try,_ needed_ to try anything and everything to remedy this situation. 

So even as Spinel began angrily pacing, Pink Pearl carefully began stringing together her next sentence, "Lady Spinel, I-"

"If I don't keep reminding my knuckle-headed self to treat one of my best pals all good, then who knows what I'll do!" Spinel snapped at herself while throwing her hands in the air "How the heck am I supposed to be the best Diamond for you that I can be!?!"

Just like that, Pink Pearl found herself lost for words once again for a moment "That's... you've been trying to-?"

"Well that's what ya needed from me, ain't it?" Spinel came to a stop and took hold of her pigtails, tugging on them in distress "Just had to stay attentive, watch what I say and be the best boss you could ask for. Seems like I can't even do that without screwing something up."

She gave another groan before stretching her hand to stark bonking herself again, but a pair of arms wrapped around her before she could proceed. Looking down, Spinel blinked as those arms tightened under her shoulders. Pink Pearl crouched to lay her head against Spinel's back, closing her eye as Spinel looked back at her.

"Pinks?" she asked carefully, stretching her neck around to look at her clearly "You uh... whatcha doing there?"

"I'm not sure." Pink Pearl admitted with a shrug "You just seemed like you needed a hug."

"Okay," Spinel nodded slowly while putting her hands over Pink Pearl's, "Guess we're doing this now, then."

Pink Pearl felt Spinel lean back against her, her eye slowly opened as she tightened the hug with a sigh "I used to see you as just their replacement at first... back when I'd see you with them outside of the palace. Maybe I did just want another Diamond to serve."

Spinel tilted her head to the side and rolled her eyes, "Ain't surprised really. Back in the day I used to think that me and my best friend were all kinds of alike. We were both pink and liked to have fun even if we weren't supposed to. No wonder you-"

"But I didn't stay for that." Pink Pearl stated, finally standing straighter and leaning her head on Spinel's shoulder "You made me really want to try being friends, even when I wasn't that good at it."

"Hey now, give yourself some credit." Spinel chuckled "I only did half the work, ya know? Being friends isn't about shouldering all of the..."

Spinel trailed off at that point, her smile disappearing as she thought for a moment.

Noting her hesitation, Pink Pearl tilted her head up and pulled Spinel closer, "Spinel, I'm worried about you, as are Spinette and even the Diamonds at this point," she said carefully before taking a careful breath "Please, take it easier on yourself."

Letting her gaze wander around the room, Spinel gave a low groan, "I remember when I used to be the professional around here."

"But you are-"

Before Pink Pearl could finish, Spinel turned around in her arms and stretched up until they were face to face. 

"But here you are being all comforting and worried about me," Spinel smiled as her arms stretched around Pink Pearl to give her a proper hug back "Lucky me having a friend like you around, eh?"

Pink Pearl flinched at that, but returned the hug as much as she could, "Right... we're friends."

That word echoed in Pink Pearl's head a few times, thrumming in her subconscious as Spinel held her. It was a word she'd heard an endless number of times while staying with Spinel, and doubly so after Spinette's arrival. But back when she served Pink Diamond, that term had never been used much around her. The Soldier gems, technicians, and builders all had their comrades, but Pearls were just Pearls. They had their masters and the Diamond Authority, and she was no different. Even if Pink Diamond was far more interested in enjoying herself than rest of the Authority was, she still only referred to her as her Pearl. But now that Era Three was upon them, that simplistic lifestyle of servility was gone. 

The transition was jarring, even if she never truly showed it. Suddenly, after losing so many millennia, she was more free than she had ever been before. It was utterly terrifying, as it was the first time in forever that she'd found herself aimless. Many gems explored using their new freedom, others merely lounged about, while still others sought to seek their previous exploits only using new methods. All around he gemkind was moving forward so rapidly that her time under White Diamond's control seemed paltry in comparison. 

Spinel provided a semblance of familiarity in a rapidly changing universe, one that Pink Pearl could admit that she'd clung to with ferocity. Yet even with how different she was from their original Diamond, Pink Pearl found herself desperately trying to regain some of that old livelihood. She'd defaulted to what she knew and did best, attempting to supply the same exact servitude as she did before. But, even if she wasn't aware of it, Spinel had allowed her to step beyond those previous standards. She'd never been more aware of such a fact than standing there wrapped up in her arms. She wasn't just a Pearl to her, she was Pinks, one of her best pals... a friend. 

"Must've looked loony to everyone," Spinel sighed as she finally pulled away and put her hands on her hips "making everyone worry like that's not professional at all."

She tapped a foot on the ground before glancing to the door, "Netty was planning on heading to Blue Diamond's pool to practice her swimming, wonder if she'd mind me showing up to apologize?"

"You know she loves being in your presence, Spinel." Pinks noted before looking to the ground "In fact, I do believe I owe her at least some reassurance. I don't believe she sees me in a rather positive light after our last interaction."

"Say what?" Spinel raised an eyebrow at her "You mean in the Atrium? I was gone for like, fifteen minutes. What could you two possibly have gotten up to?"

Spinel blinked in surprise at the sudden guilt in Pink Pearl's expression as she placed her hands together in front of her. Rubbing her thumbs together from embarrassment, Pinks swallowed carefully.

"I... may have mentioned that I wasn't built for being friends." she admitted carefully "That... it wasn't for... Pearls."

Tilting her head for a second, Spinel grinned, "You're messing with me, right?"

But as Pink Pearl stood there silently, the guilt not leaving her expression, Spinel's grin faded away only to be replaced with abject confusion.

"Whaaaaaaaat?" Spinel asked while leaning back in sheer disbelief "That doesn't make a lick of sense!"

"I'm sorry." Pink Pearl closed her eye "It was something I never considered possible back in my day a-and I guess it carried it over."

Spinel slapped a hand to her own face and pointed to her, "Putting aside how great you and I've been getting on, can you honestly look at Spinette and Blue and tell me those two ain't friends?"

Pink Pearl looked away, "Well Pearls weren't usually supposed to consider how other Pearls act unless its towards their masters so-"

"Ugh," Spinel groaned loudly before walking over and stretching over Pink Pearl. She gently took hold of the sides of Pink Pearl's face, "Look at me, Pinks. I may not be smart like you Pearls, but I know friends front to back. And let me tell you: you are a great friend. Got it?"

She waited for an answer only to grow confused as Pink Pearl merely stared up at her with a hint of wonder in her gaze. 

"Pinks?" Spinel gave her a light shake "You hear me?"

Suddenly Pink Pearl blinked and nodded, "Yes, I get it."

"Good," Spinel released her and walked towards the door "We can sort out how great a friend you are later, right now I ain't gonna leave you and Spinsy on bad terms. I'll help you work out what you'll say."

Though Pink Pearl was watching her, her hand instead went up to her cheek, massaging the place were Spinel's hand had just been touching, "O-Of course, Lady Spinel."

"Come on," Spinel waved her over with a snicker "if we hurry we might be able to sit in on some of that swimming lesson." 

Pink Pearl followed Spinel out of the room, her eye staring at her back as they moved through the Palace. But even as they discussed they upcoming conversation, Pink Pearl's hand went back up to her cheek, rubbing at it passively as she spoke. Despite knowing she'd have to bring her A-game if she was going to make things up with Spinette, Pink Pearl couldn't help but wonder why her face still felt so warm.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So after quite a bit of work-shopping, here it is: Chapter Eight. 
> 
> To be fair, this chapter was completely different when I started working on it. It was supposed to move in a completely different direction, but as I was continuing things from last chapter things started taking shape like this. Either way, it should make moving forward easier now that this is out of the way. 
> 
> Anyway, hope you enjoy, any and all criticisms positive or negative are welcomed in full so leave a comment if you are so inclined to do so. Like it? Hate it? Any ways you feel I could improve? Expectations for the next chapter? All are welcome and I will see you all in the next Installment of Leftovers.


	9. Name Games Two

Blue Pearl was sitting on the edge of her Diamond's pool, legs dangling over the side as she stared into the water below. Staring at her reflection, neither she nor her Diamond seemed willing to start a conversation. Blue Diamond was staring at the far ceiling of the room, her hair casually floating around her. But the expression on her face was one of concern. Besides the shifting of the water around her, the room was completely silent. So when the entrance to the chamber opened, both of them lifted their heads towards it just as Spinette arrived.

"Aw jeez," she tilted her head to the side upon spotting the Pearl "I wasn't late was I?"

"No!" Blue Pearl insisted as she turned part-ways towards Spinette "My trip with Yellow just... ended a little early."

Spinette gave a sigh of relief before smiling and stretching her arms to pull herself up to the rim of the pool, "Few! I was almost a lil' worried there!"

The moment she climbed up, she noted the expression of discomfort on Blue Pearl's face. Raising an eyebrow, Spinette was almost about to question her on it when another voice called out to her.

"Spinette!" Blue Diamond leaned up "I often try not to interrupt your swimming lessons but..."

She trailed off for a moment, growing an anxious expression momentarily before putting her concern on full display, "Has Spinel been... acting off recently? She gave my fellow Diamonds and I a performance earlier that didn't seem quite... her."

Spinette stared at her for a moment before looking away, "Pinks is just being a bad friend is all."

"Oh my," Blue Diamond put a hand to the side of her face in thought "Truly? I had my suspicions, but they seemed to get along so well beforehand."

Spinette put her hands on her hips and tapped her foot on the ground with a pout, "Well that's just how it is, but I'll fix it!"

"Oh?" Blue Diamond tilted her head in confusion.

Spinette stretched her fingers, "No matter what kinda trouble Big Spin's goin' through, whether it be from herself or any other gem, I just gotta try harder!" she stated before standing tall "Even if she's got a bad friend, I just need to be such a great friend that I counter-balance it, right? Right!"

Smiling at that, Blue Diamond leaned back in her pool a bit, "While that may be a solution, I should still bring this up with the other Diamonds." she put a finger to her cheek in worry "I wasn't sure at first, I'm afraid we have a habit of being too forward with subjects like this. Even if its just a problem between her and her Pearl, I should still inform White and Yellow before they worry themselves too much."

She looked down for a moment before humming and laying back in the pool, resting against the edge of it while her eyes closed.

Spinette looked at her for a moment before turning her attention to Blue Pearl, "So...?" she asked while sliding over and plopping down next to her "How'd it go with you and Yelly?"

Blue Pearl sighed as she looked away, "Well- wait," she looked back "Yelly?"

"She sounds loud even when she's not yelling, and she's yellow soo..." Spinette giggled to herself "I'm following Big Spin's example! All gems should have their own nickname! Like, did you know she still calls me Spinsy? She even called me Netty once or twice!"

"Netty..." Blue Pearl sounded out the word a bit before putting her hand to her mouth "That's... actually kind of adorable."

She smiled a bit before frowning, "But I don't know about Yelly. She's only loud when she's working." Blue Pearl put a hand over her chest "You'd actually be surprised how soft-spoken she can be in our off time."

Spinette waved it off, "Of course I'm not as good as Big Spin yet, I'll workshop it!" then she leaned closer "Tell me how your time out with her went!"

"Well..." looking down, Blue Pearl took a deep breath "we went out for a walk again. She let me lead her around, so I tried to make sure all the places we went were peaceful and beautiful. She could recount the history of every location off the top of her head, and it made every place seem even more beautiful."

Spinette nodded along, "Yeah yeah, sounding all kinds of great, buddy!"

Looking to the ceiling, Blue Pearl nodded "Oh it was. We began talking about things I never even knew she did during Era Two, a-and she was listening to things I did that she didn't know about. She looked like she was enjoying herself but-"

"_But_?" Spinette blinked and tilted her head to the side at the regret resonating in Blue Pearl's tone "What's _but_? That doesn't sound swell."

Blue Pearl began tapping her fingertips together, "I don't... really even know how we got on the topic. But suddenly we were discussing that thing from yesterday."

Spinette pouted, "What? But I said that-"

"I don't know what happened." Blue Pearl explained "But suddenly we were on it and things got... awkward again. We couldn't really talk normally afterwards and..." her head lowered as she sighed "I don't think we left off on a good note."

Spinette snapped her fingers before crossing her arms, she hadn't been expecting that whole Era Four business to be this much of a problem for them. She might not be great friends with Yellow Pearl, but she never seemed the type to just bring up things like that out of nowhere. Maybe that was just how she was when she wasn't working? Even so, if things kept going like this then Blue Pearl's budding friendship was essentially stalled. Spinette thought hard on how they could make this better. So hard was her thinking that she didn't notice Blue Pearl reaching over and pulling her into her lap until she felt a face lean on her shoulder.

At that point she blinked and looked the side, with Blue Pearl noticing her movement and sighing, "Sorry... can I hold you?"

Shrugging, Spinette gave her a thumb's up "If that'll make ya feel better, buddy, then go right ahead!" 

"Sorry..." Blue Pearl apologized again before relaxing against Spinette "You're really... soft."

Spinette giggled before raising a finger to her own face and stretching out her nose, "Well I sure as heck hope I am!" she said as her nose snapped back into place "Go ahead and gimme a squeeze if you need to."

Blue Pearl shook her head, "No, this is enough." she said before standing with Spinette still in her arms "Let's just start for now and worry about Yellow later."

Still dangling in Blue's arms, Spinette raised her own in celebration, "Yeah yeah! Dip time!"

Blue stepped over the edge and plunged into the pool with Spinette laughing the entire way, muffled only when they sank into the waves below. When Blue Pearl finally breached the water again, she looked around for a moment before Spinette popped up beside her with some semi-practiced flailing.

"Ha ha!" she laughed before looking down "Lookie! I ain't sinking am I?"

Blue Diamond watched as her Pearl began her latest lesson, eyes following the two of them as they slowly made their way along the edge of the pool. Eyes drawn to the immense smile that Spinette wore, she couldn't help but think back to the First Era. She remembered occasionally noting the exact same smile on Spinel's face. Whenever she'd give Pink the time of day, it was often that the little bundle of joy would be right on her heels. Blue Diamond remembered rarely paying attention to them back then, but nowadays she found solace in such memories. Most of them were filled by Pink's genuine smiles, many a result of Spinel's efforts.

The sheer similarity between Spinette and how Spinel acted back then was mesmerizing, with Blue Diamond having to actively pull her gaze away and look back to the ceiling as she reclined. There were other things to think of, namely how she'd be able to explain Spinel's performance to her fellow Diamonds. Yellow had been ever so concerned afterwards, whereas White had grown oddly quiet. Blue had only been able to pacify them by assuring them that they couldn't overreact in case it was something minor. But now that she knew it was because she and her Pearl were having issues, she had to properly plan out how they could help.

Alas, after some time mulling the issue over and allowing Spinette and her Pearl to have their fun, Blue Diamond found the very subject of concern presenting herself.

"Spinette!"

The shout made Blue Pearl pause before looking back. In her arms was Spinette, whose entire head spun around and stretched to look behind her before gasping in joy at the sight of the gem now standing on the edge of the pool. It was Spinel, looking down at her and gesturing for her to come over. At the beckoning of her best friend, Spinette would be remiss if she didn't do everything in her power to acquiesce to her request immediately.

"Get up here!" Spinel said before putting her hands on her hips "Pinks has something to say to you!"

"Spinel?"

Spinel glanced back to Pink Pearl, who maintained her attentive stance despite her eye looking down. She kept her hands clasped together daintily in front of her and kept her heels together, but found her fingers rubbing together anxiously.

"Are you sure we should be doing this so soon?" she asked "I mean, our incident was only earlier today."

Spinel tilted her head, "Pinks, if there's one thing I've learned from my Diamonds its that nipping a problem in the bud is always the best sol-"

Before Spinel could finish, a hand soaked in water took hold of her shoulder and she had to stomp her foot forward to keep from getting pulled into the pool. After getting over the surprise, Spinel looked over to see that Spinette had stretched her hand all the way over to her from within the pool. She looked down with a frown, preparing to talk her down, only for her eyes to bulge at the sight of the incoming gem rocketing towards her at the speed of joy.

"Biiiiiiiiiiggggg Spiiiiiinnnn!"

Spinel tried stumbling backwards, holding out her hands to defend herself, "Wait! Netty! Hold u-!"

Spinette slammed into Spinel with enough force to launch them both off of the edge of the pool. Pink Pearl watched in awe as Spinel's feet stayed in one place, only for the rest of her to go stretching over the edge as Spinette wrapped her arms her even as they fell. Spinel flailed, her arms stretching wide and wild as her eyes darted from the gem holding her to the edge of the pool which was growing farther and farther away. Then her gaze shot to Pink Pearl.

"Grab me grab me grab me!" she called out as the two fell, her voice shaking Pink Pearl out of her stunned stupor. Her eye snapped back to Spinel's feet, the stretching legs already causing them to slide backwards. Hurrying over, Pink Pearl kneeled down and held down Spinel's feet right before she lost sight of them. 

Spinel wound up instinctively holding her hands behind her to cushion the fall as her legs stretched down and they swung towards the outer wall of the tub. She managed to cushion the impact, giving a sigh of relief as she hung upside down for a moment. After getting her bearings again, she glanced to the side and found Spinette's face a centimetre away from her.

"So... you gonna tell me why I nearly just slammed my head against the tub?" Spinel raised an eyebrow, only for her eyes to widen as Spinette pressed their foreheads together and continued staring at her with awe.

"Hello?" Spinel suddenly felt awkward with the lack of response "You uh... you okay there?"

"You don't got the hurting look on your face anymore!" Spinette said suddenly as she began squeezing Spinel excitedly "Wow! Can't believe you got better so quick! That's my Best Buddy for ya!"

Spinel's anxiousness turned to embarrassment real quick, "Oh...so you can tell?" she asked as her legs began pulling them back up "Yeah, that's actually what I wanted to talk to you about."

Though Spinette tilted her her head in interest, any further discussion was interrupted as a shadow fell over both of them. Looking up, the two found that Blue Diamond had made her way over to their side of the pool and was looking down at them with concern. Her expression relaxed upon seeing them in relatively well condition.

"Ah, Spinel, I was just considering whether I should seek you out." Blue Diamond leaned back as they finally got to the top of the tub "You know... just to ask how you were doing and stuff."

Spinel finally was pulled back to her feet, and sighed before briefly nodding to Pink Pearl and standing up with Spinette still clinging to her happily. Looking up to Blue Diamond, Spinel rubbed the back of her head before stepping towards her.

"Look, I'm sorry about how off I was actin' during that performance earlier." Spinel apologized, with Blue Diamond immediately pulling back "Should never brush off an audience like that."

"No, no." Blue Diamond waved off the apology with a cautious smile, "Your performance was amazing, Spinel."

"Pinks and I worked it out," Spinel stated while looking up to her before turning to look at Spinette "we're all good now. I got all talkie and she got talkie, I'm almost fairly certain we were huggin' it out at one point."

"Really?" Spinette asked as Spinel brushed her off

"Point is ya don't gotta worry about me acting all loony any more." Spinel patted herself on the chest before putting her hands on her hips and leaning towards Spinette "But now I'm hearing that you and Pinks got in a little squabble over it?"

Pink Pearl found herself growing embarrassed at that, looking away momentarily before moving to approach Spinel. She reached out to tap her on the shoulder, but hesitated a bit and instead shifted closer to her side before speaking softly.

"Spinel?" she said while glancing to Spinette "I'm not sure this is-"

"Yep!" Spinette answered with a giddy nod before pouting and kicking at the ground "Hearing that you was looking all hurt and trying so hard because of her made me feel pretty bummed, bestie. The way she explained it made her seem like a really bad friend! And I just couldn't handle the thought of you having a bad friend! Especially since you've had one before!"

Spinel looked back to Pink Pearl and gave her a nudge, "Ah, I just knew you'd be regaling her with my tale. Ya never said it," she reached back and booped her on the nose "but I knew!"

Pink Pearl blushed as she rubbed at her arm, looking away before smiling and rubbing at her nose the moment that Spinel turned back to Spinette. Looking over the exchange with fascination was Blue Diamond, who looked from speaker to speaker while trying and failing to minimize her presence. Suddenly pulling back, she looked down at her side questioningly before smiling and leaning down to scoop her Pearl out of the water.

"Anyway, sorry you had to see me like that." Spinel nodded to Spinette before looking down "I may be a professional, but I was totally wrong about-"

"Nope!"

Spinel looked up at Spinette, not expecting the sudden interruption. Smiling wide, Spinette clenched her her fists at her sides and leaned towards Spinel with a determined glint in her eyes.

"There's no way you were wrong!" Spinette declared before looking away momentarily "You just... weren't as right as you usually are!"

Spinel shrugged, "I'll take what I can get, look the point is..!" she reached over and dragged Pinks into a side hug before using her other hand to point at her "You two are gonna make up, got it?"

Feeling herself getting pushed forward, Pink Pearl looked back to Spinel with hesitation. She couldn't help thinking about the tearful wails that Spinette had released during their last interaction, how horribly she'd done at explaining herself. But Spinel merely gave her a thumb's up, making Pink Pearl's words halt before she could even speak them. Swallowing down her nerves, she turned back to Spinette and prepared to make up for the last time. But hands clasped around hers the moment she turned back on her.

"Sorry for gettin' all aggressive with ya!" Spinette apologized while pulling close and leaning her head against Pink Pearl "I just couldn't stand the thought of you seein' Big Spin like that, ya know?"

Pink Pearl wanted to feel relieved that Spinette was so quick to jump at the idea of making up, wanted to hold her and feel the relief of knowing she hadn't messed anything up. But no matter how much she wanted that, something just felt off about the interaction. Looking down at Spinette as she smiled up at her, Pink Pearl realized all too quickly that she wasn't sure if it was genuine. Throughout most of her interactions with Spinette, she seemed eager to make friends and have fun with Spinel. The only outliers to that were when Spinel wasn't around her. Almost every time they interacted without Spinel, Spinette had been overwhelmed with either anger or sadness. Those episodes were nothing like the adorably embarrassed pout being aimed at her right now.

Pink Pearl looked back to Spinel for a moment before lowering her hand to Spinette's head and rubbing it, "I should've given my friendship with her more credit... my apologies." she said as Spinette nuzzled against her "Are you... _sure_ that you're okay now? You were rather distraught when we last conversed."

Spinette pulled back before striking a pose and jerking a thumb towards herself, "I'm right as rain!"

Spinel cocked her head to the side, "Have you even..._ seen_ rain?"

Spinette waved the question off, before winking at her, "Blooples told me all about that sky water stuff, so no need to worry!"

"Blooples?"

Spinel and Pink Pearl looked over to Blue Pearl, who was standing in the palm of her Diamond and looking to Spinette quizzically, "Is that... me?"

"Of course! It sounds super fun and sweet!" Spinette declared "Just like how you are with Yelly!"

Blue Diamond raised her other hand up to her mouth to stifle her laughter for a moment before shifting her arm a bit so her Pearl could disembark onto the edge of the pool with ease. Once her Pearl was situated, she leaned down against the edge and turned her attention to Spinel.

"Well I'm sure my fellow Diamonds will be thrilled to hear you're doing better," she said while reaching a finger down to pet her "you know how they can get."

"Geez," Spinel reached up and wrapped her arms around Blue Diamond's finger, hugging it close as she looked away "I can just imagine what those two was thinkin' seein' me all crazy n' stuff."

Watching Spinel and Blue Diamond made Pink Pearl smile a bit, already finding that this entire venture had gone better than she could ever have anticipated. But even as she thought that, she found her gaze wandering back to Spinette. She was staring at Spinel and Blue Diamond as well, giving a usual giddy smile of enthusiasm at the scene. Despite herself, Pink Pearl couldn't help focusing on Spinette's face, trying to see if there was any hint as to whether it was genuine or not. Her interactions with Spinette were so wildly different that it almost felt like something she _had_ to try. But before her investigation could go deeper, the sound of a throat being cleared nearby made both of them look to Blue Pearl.

"Sorry, I just can't stop wondering how you get Yelly for Yellow while I get..." she paused for a moment to halt her own laughter before it could begin "...B-Blooples."

"Really?" Spinette tilted her head in confusion "Ain't I explain the whole sweet stuff?"

Spinette closed her eyes and began restating her previous explanation whilst Blue Diamond began emerging from her pool. As she did so, Spinel took the chance to wrap an arm around both Pinks and Spinette and pull them close. 

"By the by, we really gotta work on ya naming policy," she said to Spinette .

"Thankfully, you'll have more than enough time to discuss it." Blue Diamond commented once she was outside of her pool, looking back to them as she folded her hands together "I'll be off to find White and Yellow for the time being, the sooner this is dealt with the better."

Blue Pearl perked up and stepped forward, "Ah, then allow me to-"

"No dear." Blue Diamond raised a hand to halt her "I'm sure I can find them myself, feel free to enjoy some time with your friends in the meantime."

With that she turned and made her way out of the room.

* * *

Big Spin got really caught up on that whole Naming thing. It was pretty much the only thing she talked about as they wandered from the pool into the halls of the Palace. Spinette was actually starting to get worried that she wouldn't be able to grant her friend the adorable label of Blooples. It wouldn't be the first time she'd have to give up a superior name because Big Spin wasn't comfortable with it. Though it may have happened a while ago, she remembered clearly when she was mere inches away from getting the name Spinsy for herself. But Big Spin had some kind of problem with it despite being the super duper best friend who offered it in the first place, and so she had settled for Spinette all for her.

Glancing to her side, Spinette observed her best pearl friend who was walking alongside her behind Spinel and Pinks. She seemed charmed by the title, but the conversation seemed as though it would lead them to discard it. Spinette couldn't let that happen, couldn't let her bestie double down on changing the title. And so she folded her arms behind her back and happily skipped ahead to Big Spin's other side.

"I'm just saying that just because I'm not great with nicknames doesn't mean everyone has to be, Pinks." she was in the middle of saying without turning to Pink Pearl "I mean... ya know how I am with that kinda thing, right?"

"I always found your straightforward approach to the subject rather endearing." Pink Pearl noted

"Yeah!" Spinette chimed as she skipped ahead of Spinel and turned to face her while walking backwards "You always come up with the bestest names! Weren't you gonna stop being so hard on yourself?"

Spinel waved a finger in front of her, "Nuh uh uh, Spinsy!" she pounded a squeaky fist to her gem "There's a whole heap o' difference between self-deprecation and self-awareness."

"Self dapa whats it?" Spinette tilted her head in confusion as Spinel took hold of her shoulder and dragged her into a side hug. Instinctively, Spinette wrapped her arms around her best friend as Spinel jerked a thumb back towards Blue Pearl with her free hand.

"Just trying to be careful with this, she's one o' ya first friends after all." Spinel noted before giving her a questioning look "Don't ya wanna think over what you call her just a eensy-bit more?"

Spinette shook her head, "Nope, because its just as sweet as she is!" she stated before giving Spinel a shrug "I don't think I could come up with a better name if ya gave me years to think it over!"

Spinel frowned, and was about to counter the claim when laughter from behind made her pause and look to Blue Pearl.

"I'm sorry," she said while struggling to stifle her giggles, pausing in the hall to place a hand over her mouth "Its... its just too funny to disagree with."

"Oh come on, BP." Spinel let her arm fall from Spinette as she turned to her fully, "Haven't you ever thought of some awesome title you'd want?"

Blue Pearl shook her head before a placing a hand over her chest, "Most Pearls would simply adhere to whatever titles our owners would give us during the previous Eras, I'd never considered I would need one for myself. I don't believe the idea would cross the mind of most of us."

Pink Pearl hummed at that before looking to Spinel, "Perhaps that's why the one you gave me feels..." she trailed off for a moment before closing her eye "...so nice."

"See!" Spinette hopped from one foot to the other whilst pointing to Blue Pearl "She's seein' it as that In-deer stuff!"

"Endearing," Pink Pearl corrected

"That too!" Spinette hugged Spinel and lifted her off the ground with a squeeze, "So that means it's fine, right?"

Spinel patted her on the head whilst looking away, "Well..."

"Perhaps we could shorten it to Bloop for the sake of convenience?" Pinks offered before rethinking herself "I mean, if the full form seems off to you, Lady Spinel."

"Ah," Spinel thought for a moment before stretching her feet to the ground and turning to Blue Pearl, "Hey BP, how's that sound to you?"

"Convenience is fairly handy." She noted before holding back another small giggle "And the way it sounds... I just... its too humorous, really."

"Well there ya have it," Spinel shrugged "how's that sound Net-?"

Spinel paused upon seeing the look of concentration on Spinette's face. She had both her eyes closed and fingers pressing against the sides of her head as she thought intensely. She stuck her tongue out to the side as she concentrated, before her eyes finally snapped open and she put her hands on her hips.

"I'll take it!" she declared before spinning over to Blue Pearl and wrapping her up in a hug "Hear that, Bloop? I got me the Big Spin seal of approval!"

Watching them for a moment, Spinel rolled her eyes with a grin before turning around. Before walking too far, she paused beside Pink Pearl and clapped her on the shoulder, "Look at you solving our name-related problems again," she cooed whilst giving her a shake "Where would I be without ya, Pinks?"

Though she laughed and resumed walking, Pink Pearl had to take a moment to herself before following after her.

With Blue Diamond's departure, many of them didn't really have anything to do at the moment. Spinel had finished her routine, as odd as it was, and Spinette had pretty much finished her swimming lessons. Upon questioning, Blue Pearl admitted that when not working with Yellow Pearl or one of the Diamonds she'd find herself wandering Homeworld more often than not. Of course, Spinette was quick to jump on more potential time to have fun with her friend, especially if Spinel could join in, the only problem now was finding something to do.

So they wandered the palace a bit, talking about several different subjects ranging from Spinette's most recent tussle with the local Rubies to White Diamond's continued efforts to remember and fix forgotten mistakes with Yellow Diamond's help. Though she contributed to the conversation here and there, Pink Pearl found much of her thoughts during their aimless wandering were caught up with how odd her current predicament was. She hadn't been able to focus too much on it beforehand, as the situation with Spinette had taken center stage in her mind, but now that everyone was smiling and chatting she couldn't help but wonder why something felt off. 

It had something to do with Spinel, but she just couldn't put her finger on it.

Was it residual discomfort from their tense conversation earlier? No it... it didn't exactly feel bad enough for that. In fact, Pinks couldn't exactly figure out what it felt like. She just knew that it revolved around Spinel for some reason, and Pink Pearl would be remiss if she didn't have an idea of what she was feeling towards her friend. After what they'd only recently been through, she didn't like the idea of any loose threads being left behind.

Their wandering led them to the throne room, where Spinette immediately brightened at the sight of two gems already inside. It was Eyeball and Peridot 4OI, the latter of which was anxiously looking over a screen using her limb enhancers while the former was looking up to the thrones before her. 

"Hey guys!" Spinette greeted as she ran over to them, prompting Eyeball to look back with a raised eyebrow as 4OI quickly closed her screen "Woweee! You got your arm thingies back!"

"Back?" Spinel tilted her head as she followed after her "Ya mean she lost 'em at some point? How? Aren't they like... kinda hard to misplace?"

Peridot blushed at that and stammered trying to think of an excuse, "T-They weren't-!"

"Weren't there when I saw her earlier in the Kindergarten." Spinette noted much to her frustration "Thought she left em somewhere high and was asking for help."

"Help that she didn't need!" Eyeball chimed in whilst slapping Peridot 4OI on the back "Took a while, but I knew she just needed the proper motivation to get up there herself!"

"You were chasing me full force!" 4OI exclaimed while whirling on her in anger

"Like I said," Eyeball snickered as she folded her arms "the proper motivation"

"Wait... you went to the kindergarten again?" Spinel turned on Spinette, "When?"

"After my lil mishap with Pinky!" Spinette explained before stretching an arm over and yanking Eyeball to her side "I was all outta sorts until this one told me all about understanding differences and what friendship really meant to me!"

Spinel failed to hold back the chuckles as she looked to a slightly irate Eyeball, "You? Giving lessons on friendship?"

Prying herself from Spinette's grasp, Eyeball patted herself on the chest, "Just cuz it ain't my specialty don't mean I don't know about it!" she stated victoriously before frowning and looking away "But I may have stole a few words from that Traitor Rose in order to keep her from interrupting our training session with her moping."

"Moping in a garden, eh?" Spinel's smile weakened as she glanced back to Spinette "That is a... distressingly familiar mental image I'm gettin' here."

"But it's all good now!" Spinette winked to her before slapping her own cheeks with her palms only for Spinel to grab her hands

"That just ain't good enough for me, Spinsy." she admitted "So I got me a great idea for how I'mma make it up to ya for getting you all down in the dumps."

"Oh?" Spinette looked up as Spinel gestured to the other side of the throne room towards the large double doors that eventually led outside.

"We're gonna play us a game!" Spinel declared before patting herself on the chest and pointing to Spinette "You and me! I know you's all having fun with your new pals and stuff, but I'd hate for you to miss out on more time with ya bestie, right?"

Spinette slapped her hands to her cheeks in awe before hopping from one foot to the other, barely containing a squeal of joy as Spinel looked past her to the Pearls, "But that don't mean we're leavin' either of you out of it. Wouldn't be a proper hangout without all of our friends, now would it?"

Pinks blushed again while Bloop gave a a small applause, but before either of them could respond a nasally laugh burst from Peridot 4OI.

"I know!" Spinette giggled along with her, "Its gonna be so much fun-"

"Nuh-uh." Peridot wagged her finger before opening a screen using a limb enhancer and shaking her head "You clods might have all the time in the world to go goofing off, but some gems have very important work to get to."

Spinette pouted, sagging against Spinel as she looked away, "Aww, you're really that busy?"

"Trust me, she's not." Eyeball stated, with 4OI glaring at her for a moment before closing the screen.

"Even if I wasn't-!" she began again

"Which you aren't." Eyeball reiterated

"I have better things to do than play games." she said as she walked away

"Bet ya anything ya don't." Eyeball called after her

"I don't make bets with menaces!" 4OI shouted back as she sped up

"I see ya don't make bets ya can't win, either!" Eyeball retorted only for her attention to turn back to Spinel, "Look, I'm sure you could scout out plenty of avenues for the cause while out and about."

"Right... the cause." Spinel found her her eyes involuntarily rolling, with everything that had been going on lately she'd almost forgotten about Eyeball's true goals. Sure enough, Eyeball started making cautious glances towards the Pearls as she spoke to Spinel.

"But we gotta marshal resources where we can, soldier!" Eyeball looked away "I'll be investigating my own leads on how to do what's right, so between the two of us I'm sure that we'll get a new clue somewhere!"

She raised a fist in determination, with Spinel doing the same with much much less enthusiasm, "Smart thinking," Spinel said with a stained smile "They'll never catch on to us as long as we keep our whole together time to a minimum."

Spinel came up with it on the fly, but Eyeball seemed satisfied with it. She made a mental note to thank Pinks for all those lying lessons. Standing straight, Eyeball saluted her with a nod, "Till next time, Soldier!"

Snickering Spinel lazily offered a salute as well right before Eyeball began marching off, "Yeah yeah, till next-"

"Right back at ya, Soldier!!!"

Spinel glanced down to Spinette who was on her tiptoes waving goodbye to Eyeball with one hands and giving a rather haphazard salute as well. She didn't hold it for long, spinning back around and clenching her hands with enthusiasm, "Well we can just have fun with us four! Come on!"

As she skipped ahead, Spinel lowered her gaze and glanced back to the Pearls. Bloop hurried by, eager to keep up with Spinette, but Pinks stopped beside Spinel and waited patiently. Frowning, Spinel began walking with Pinks in tow, turning her attention forward as Spinette and Bloop happily conversed. Once they were halfway out of the palace, Spinel leaned toward Pink Pearl.

"I remember a while ago you were askin' about Netty actin' odd." she said without turning her head "Any particular reason for that?"

Pink Pearl's eyes widened, but merely clasped her hands in front of her chest and looked away, "Well, its just that I've come to notice an odd trend with her." Pinks admitted "I don't think you could've noticed given the circumstances but..."

Her eyes went to Spinette as well, watching her playfully poke at Bloop as they chatted, "Even before our spat the other day, she always aims to be careful around you."

"Careful?" Spinel raised an eyebrow before looking herself over and sighing "I know I ain't as cute as I used to be, but I didn't think I was that terrifying."

"No no," Pink Pearl waved off her concern "it's not that, you're plenty cu-"

Pausing, she coughed into her hand and looked away again, "I think it's that she's trying her hardest to make you happy."

Spinel shrugged with a smirk, "Well duh, Pinks. We're kinda prime for merrymaking if ya hadn't noticed."

"While that may be true, I believe she's tempering herself specifically whenever she's around you in order to maintain your happiness." Pinks continued, folding her hands behind her head and looking to the floor as they walked "It only seems to happen when you aren't around, Spinel. The sheer volume of misery she can display whenever you're not around is quite... uncanny."

"Uncanny?" Spinel tilted her head before looking at Spinette several times "We talkin' bout the same gem here?"

"That's exactly how jarring the difference can get." Pinks insisted before walking a little closer "The very situation we were discussing earlier occurred not a moment after you left to run that errand for her. I've seen her switch from chipper to raving in the blink of an eye, every instance of which occurs the moment you aren't around to see it. She's hiding it for you sake, I'm sure of it."

Spinel groaned before putting a hand to her face in dismay, "And here I was thinking we'd talked everything out earlier. Now I'm hearing she's having outbursts?"

Blinking, Pink Pearl raised an eyebrow, "Were you not suspecting something like that already?"

Spinel shook her head, "No, I was worried she was getting to chummy with Eyeball and maybe spouted some Authority stuff when I wasn't looking."

Pink Pearl took a moment to grow a confused look, "Eyeball?"

"Yeah, hearing how she met up with her at some point got me kind of worried, especially if she starts trying to mimic that Soldier Gem talk." Spinel put her hands on her hips as she glanced to Pink Pearl again "Eyeball might be a conspiracy nut, but she's a darn passionate conspiracy nut. Spinette's not too familiar with how things work, so having that kind of stuff around her's kind of a freaky thought. So I guess this whole outburst thing is better."

"It is?" Pink Pearl's attention was drawn ahead as they drew closer to the exit of the Palace.

"Well compared to the mess of untangling all of Eyeball's conspiracies, just tellin' her to be honest around me's gonna be a cakewalk." Spinel snickered as they drew closer to the entrance of the Palace "I'm her best buddy, Pinks, just give me about a minute or two and I'll get this all sorted."

Soon the Palace was behind them, and the City-scape of Homeworld stretched out around them. Spinette jogged towards a railing overlooking a pit between two large walkways, practically bouncing up and down with enthusiasm. She waved Bloop over to her before pulling her close and pointing.

"Look look! That's where Ruby 6YN tried to get me in a headlock yesterday!" she cheered before pointing elsewhere "And over there? Ruby 2IT and her squad tried to jump me from above!"

"All perfectly fun times I'm sure, pal."

Spinette and Bloop turned to watch Spinel approach with a thoughtful grin. Tapping a finger to her chin, she looked to the rooftops before raising an eyebrow at them.

"Not too long ago Netty and I had ourselves quiet a race up there." Spinel sighed "Today's game's gonna be a little twist on that."

Spinette gasped and began hopping up and down, one hand holding Bloop's excitedly as she did so.

"Now I'm sure _you_ remember it," Spinel nodded towards her before looking to Bloop "But I'll have Pinks fill you in just so's we got ourselves an even playing field."

With that, Spinel stretched a hand over and tugged Bloop over to Pink Pearl. Somewhat unprepared, Pinks blinked a bit as Bloop stood at attention waiting for the explanation. Blushing a bit, Pink Pearl closed her eye and thought.

"Well, if she's talking about the Race I think she is," she opened her eye pointed to the buildings ahead of them "then I believe we started upon a high rooftop."

As Pink Pearl began explaining things, one of Spinel's arms snaked around Spinette's shoulders and pulled her aside. Stumbling a bit, Spinette smiled brightly upon realizing who exactly was tugging her away. Happily complying, Spinel put a few yards of distance between them and the Pearls before standing before Spinette and looking her over. 

Raising an eyebrow at the examination, Spinette tilted her head in confused interest, "Somethin' the matter, Big Spin?"

Spinel found her eyes narrowing in agitation, then clamped her hands to the sides of Spinette's head to drag her closer. Straining her eyes, she tried looking for any sign of what Pink Pearl had told her. Anything to indicate even a hint of the anger or sadness that was apparently afflicting the gem in her hands. 

But despite having her head tugged around, Spinette just giggled throughout Spinel's examination, "Heheh, this new kinda tickling's pretty snazzy, best friend!"

Spinel groaned, she got absolutely nothing from that. She wanted to trust Pink Pearl, was even positive that she wouldn't joke about something like this. So why couldn't she see even a hint of it? Frowning, Spinel had to consider the possibility that maybe she really had lost her touch. She used to think she was an expert at reading smiles, that it was part of her job as a best friend. Maybe it was just part of the leftover naivety she had back in the days. Either way, it definitely wasn't helping right now. But that was fine, she could still do this. 

She let go of Spinette's head, which zipped back to her body with enough speed to leave her spinning. Reaching out, Spinel stopped her mid-spin by placing a hand on her shoulder. Spinette was still snickering, but Spinel made sure to turn her back towards her.

Taking a deep breath, Spinel leaned down and grinned at her, "You know that you can be honest with me, right?"

"Yep yep, absolutely!" Spinette nodded 

"Even if its something you might not want to be honest about, right?" Spinel added

"Uh-huh," Spinette gave her a thumb's up "you got it!"

Placing her hands together, Spinel gestured to her while closing her eyes, "So let's say you was havin' a bad time with something. Even when I'm there, its no problem to be honest about it, right?"

Spinette tilted her head in confusion for a moment before snapping her fingers, "Oh.... I get it!" She declared before giggling to herself "Pinky finally filled you in on that, Big Spin?"

Frowning with a shrug, Spinel folded her arms, "Well she's just sayin she's kinda worried about you. Ya know, saying that you're holding back around me, trying not to seem too upset about things-"

"Absolutely!" Spinette declared

Spinel put her hands on her hips, raising an eyebrow at Spinette before planting her hands on her hips and leaning down towards her, "Well you know you ain't gotta do that around me! I'm supposed to be helping you, and if you're fibbing about how badly things are for you I can't really do my job now can I?"

Spinette waved off her concerns, "Sorry, Big Spin! I can't go getting all teary and grouchy around you of all gems. You're already feeling down enough as it is!"

Spinel's frown deepened, "Excuse me?"

"Yeah, I can't really go about being the bestest friend in the whole wide universe if I'm making you more upset than you already are." Spinette shrugged before pointing to herself with glee "I'd just be making things harder for both of us at that point!"

"So you're saying I wouldn't be able to handle it?" Spinel raised an eyebrow as she got into Spinette's face "That I'd just fall apart if you weren't suppressing ya'self all the time?"

"Well as your best friend, I can't go risking something like that!" Spinette stated with a pout which slowly turned back into a smile as she coiled a hand up to Spinel and booped her on the nose "So I won't~"

Spinel slapped her hand against her own face in agitation, "I thought you said you were gonna be honest with me, Spinsy!"

Spinette nodded and snapped her fingers, "You got it, Big Spin!" she declared with enthusiasm

Pulling her hand away, Spinel tilted her head, "So you're gonna stop bottling it up, right?"

Spinette snapped her fingers again, "No can do, Big Spin!" she declared with just as much enthusiasm.

Spinel threw her hands up into the air with a groan. 

Watching the back and forth from afar were both Pink Pearl and Bloop, who rubbed at her cheek in slight worry.

"A-Are they alright?" she asked, only for Pinks to pat her on the back

"I'm sure they're just fine." she tried to say with certainty, only to look back at the two with concern.

"Ya can't just go bottling things up like that for my sake!" Spinel stated before jerking a thumb at herself "I did something like that for millennia! Just pushing it all down until it broke open and ruined me! I ain't gonna let you do that to yourself! I made a lil' promise to myself that you weren't gonna end up like me!"

"Aww," Spinette hugged herself and writhed with joy "But you're amazing!"

"No!" Spinel waved her hands in front of her wildly "I'm not! I'm actually kinda the opposite o' that if ya haven't noticed! Even you gotta notice how messed up and wrong I am!"

"Nope!" Spinette declared, shaking her head with another chipper smile "There ain't no way my bestest friend can be wrong at all! You're just... not as right as ya usually are! And that's perfectly fine!"

Dragging her fingers along her face, Spinel pointed at her, "You take that back!"

"The compliment?"

"Yes!" Spinel shouted "I ain't about to accept a compliment like that!"

"U-Um?"

They both looked to Bloop, who stepped towards them despite Pink Pearl shaking her head, "Were... we not going to play a game together?"

Spinel's eyelid twitched a bit before she was struck with a realization and grinned, "You know what? You're absolutely right!" she declared whilst taking a few steps back away from all of them "Here I am forgetting again, heheh. We were gonna have ourselves some more fun bouncing!"

Spinette gasped with joy, "Yes!"

Spinel rolled her eyes before nodding to Bloop and Pink Pearl "At first I was thinkin' we'd goof around, let you two ride on our backs while we bounced across the skyline." she said before glancing to Spinette "But since _some_ gems seem to think I'm some kinda fragile, delicate little_ weakling_!"

She clenched one hand hard at that last part, watching as Spinette looked around in confusion before shrugging.

"We'll have to make this a lil' more serious." Spinel pointed right at her "Another race! This time with gems on both of our backs!"

Spinette went starry-eyed at the prospect, with Pink Pearl looking between them for a moment before frowning, "Um... Spinel-?"

"I won't hold back this time, ya hear me!?!" Spinel declared "We head right for the roof we started at last time then back to the Balcony! I'll be bouncing around you like its nothing! Then you'll see just how _weak_ I am!"

She spun away and marched off in a huff. She passed by Bloop, who approached Spinette with confused interest, "So... how does this work?"

Spinette still seemed awed by the prospect of getting to race her best friend like last time, but smiled at Bloop's question before turning around, "Ah, its easy! Just climb on and hold tight so I can do the rest of the work, buddy!"

As they sorted themselves out, Pink Pearl watched as Spinel stomped over to her with her arms crossed, "Um, I take it the conversation didn't go so well?"

"She stonewalled me!" Spinel declared before turning around "Me! Saying its _risky_ for her to act natural around me! Can you believe that?!?" 

Spinel clasped her hands together and crouched low, "Obviously I've been too lax with her. Today she'll learn that her Big Spin ain't no pushover!"

"By winning a... race?"

"Exactly!" Spinel grinned before patting herself on the back, "Hop on!"

Pink Pearl was about to say more, only for her words to fall silent upon hearing that order. She looked down at Spinel's back for a moment before reaching forward with hesitation. Spinel kept her eyes glued to Spinette and Bloop the entire time, but eventually realized that Pinks was really taking a while to climb on. Raising an eyebrow, Spinel turned back to find that Pink Pearl had paused with her hands on her shoulders. For some reason she was just staring down at her with a slight blush tinting her features.

"Pinks?" Spinel asked

Her voice seemed to snap Pink Pearl out of her daze, "Oh! I-I'm sorry." she apologized before scrambling to properly hold on.

"Are you sure I'm not inconvenient?" Bloop asked while wrapping her legs around Spinette's back

"Nah, you're as light as rain!" Spinette declared with a wave of her hand.

Bloop tilted her head to look over Spinette's shoulder, "Rain can actually have quite a lot of weight depending on volume."

Spinette raised an eyebrow as she looked behind her, "How's bein' loud supposed to make ya heavier?"

"Alright!" Spinel interrupted their talk as she took her place at Spinette's side "We know the track, everything's ready. But I wouldn't be a professional if I couldn't make this a thorough lesson on playing with pals."

"A lesson and a game?!?" Spinette was thrown for a loop by the sheer idea of it "That just sounds amazing."

"Yep, I didn't just have Pinks and Bloop climb on our backs for nothing." Spinel stated while glancing back to Pink Pearl "Gotta make sure this piggyback ride's fun for them during our race, proper friend should got no problem doin' both, right?"

As Spinette nodded fervently, Spinel smirked and twisted her legs into a cone before turning forward and winding up "Then we start at the count of... Now!"

Spinel bounded up into the air in the blink of an eye, with Spinette going wide eyed before happily leaping up after her. Her first leap made Bloop tighten her hold on her, gasping as they sped up away from the ground. Having ridden around in her Diamond's palm several times and looked over cities from Spaceships, she was no stranger to heights. But for each of those times, she'd had something sturdy under her feet. Now, sailing with the wind in her hair, she found the rapidly approaching ground a terrifying prospect to even think about. But as they bounced up into the air again, she found the sound of giggles reaching her ears. Hesitantly turning her gaze to look over Spinette's shoulder, she saw her friend laughing in anticipation as the ground rushed up to them again.

As Spinette bounced atop a nearby rooftop, she spun along the very edge before pointing to a landing pad nearby, "Oh oh! I'm gonna stick this!"

"R-Really?" Bloop asked, hints of a smile tugging at the edge of her lips before it transformed into another gasp as Spinette cleared the Roaming Eye docked on that Landing Pad and bounded into the air again.

She laughed through it all, her pleased giggles of triumph practically contagious to Bloop as they cleared building after building. So lost in the growing sense of enjoyment was she that only after some time riding Spinette did Bloop press herself closer to ask, "You're certain you remember where this building we're to loop at even is?"

"Of course!" Spinette said whilst leaping across a massive pit in between two sets of buildings, "Could never forget it! That's where Big Spin and I played our first game together! I try to remember every lil' thing about my bestie, so that place is clear as day!"

Just thinking about it nearly made Spinette squeal in delight as she leaped a segment of an older building that was currently undergoing renovations. Large chunks had been removed at the top floor, leaving Spinette with little more than a singular walkway before her. But despite being fully able to jump to the other side with little effort, Spinette could barely contain her excitement and proceeded to twirl along the walkway.

"Now we get to do it again!" she cooed, before reaching behind herself for Bloop "And you even get to do it with us, buddy!"

Before Bloop could comment on her excitement, Spinette spun whilst tugging her off. Bloop ended up spinning along the walkway ahead of Spinette, only for a hand to lunge out and catch her before she went too far. Bloop looked to Spinette with confusion for a moment before recognizing the position they were both in, a smile forming on her face as Spinette pulled her back into an enthusiastic groove. They proceeded to vigorously dance along the walkway of the building happily, a dual chorus of laughter rising up from them as they went.

Watching their movements from a floating construction machine that circled the building was Spinel, who watched them with an odd mix of confusion and anger. Despite having outpaced Spinette earlier in their 'race', Spinel couldn't let her chipper doppelganger out of her sight for too long. But yet here she was dancing it up with her friend instead of focusing primarily on the race. On one hand she knew she should be proud in a way, proud that Spinette had gotten to the point where she could enjoy time with others whilst technically playing with her, but the accomplishment was soured by the previous revelation. Even from where she was standing, she tried to reconcile the joyful occurrence before her with anything Pinks had described.

It shouldn't be this hard, right? Spinette had practically admitted to her that Pink Pearl's claims were true! Yet Spinel found to her ever-increasing aggravation that Spinette displayed not a single sign in her actions or expressions. Even her words sounded far too cute and happy for her own good. The idea that Spinette was bottling up her feelings all for her was infuriating, and the fact that she did it all to _protect_ her was just the cherry on top. If being stonewalled had told Spinel anything, it was that trying to simply talk Spinette out of it would go nowhere as long as she believed it was in her best friend's interests. She would need to show her that her best friend was perfectly capable of handling whatever problems she might have. Yeah, she might not be as happy as she could be, but that was no excuse to treat her like some fragile weakling claiming it was for her sake.

"Pfft, me weak..." Spinel forced herself to snicker at the idea "I've been literally bouncing circles around her since we started, right Pinks?"

Though she asked for confirmation, Spinel found no reply forthcoming. Twisting her head around, Spinel found that Pink Pearl had once again fallen oddly silent. She had her eye closed, still clinging to Spinel with a small smile on her face, yet it didn't seem seem as though she'd taken note of Spinel's words. Spinel's anger momentarily dissipated, outweighed by her confusion.

"Pinks?" She asked, gaining no response until she gave a shake "Pinks!"

It was only then that Pink Pearl's head shot up, eye fluttering open only to blush as Spinel gave her a questioning look.

"You alright?" Spinel asked "Ya been kinda out of it all day."

"I...I'm sorry." Pink Pearl looked away "I don't really understand it fully either. Its just... an odd feeling."

"Look if ya still thinking about how I was acting before our talk, I'm telling you that I ain't gonna be doing that kinda stuff again." Spinel said definitively "So you can relax, okay?"

"Its not that, really." Pink Pearl looked away awkwardly "Its just... I don't really know how to explain but... Aren't they getting a bit too far ahead?"

Spinel's head immediately snapped forward to find that Spinette and Bloop had finished their impromptu dance and had continued bouncing ahead. Gasping and narrowing her eyes, Spinel coiled up again before launching herself back into action. Despite Spinette's momentary lead, Spinel caught up by the time they reached the building and made the loop. Despite all the raw energy Spinette might have, Spinel could depend on her experience in a battle such as this. She'd been bouncing and performing for the Diamonds for months after all, and had all the technique that a professional of her standing should have. 

As such, she'd managed to pull ahead to a fair degree by the time she slid to a stop onto the balcony of her room at the Palace. 

"Aha!" she raised her hands in victory as she uncoiled her legs and adopted a pose of power "Easy peasy, right Pinks?"

Whilst carefully stepping off, Pink Pearl nodded, "There was never a doubt in mind."

Smirking at her for a moment, Spinel marched towards the balcony with her hands on her hips, "Now let's see just how lil' Spinsy thinks o' me now that I-"

She took one look outside before immediately flinging herself back out of the way as a Pink and Blue blur flew in from outside and rolled along the ground before slamming against the opposite wall.

Shaking her head, Spinel's eyes shot towards the heap with worry "Spinette?" she called out quickly, only for the sound of giggling to dissuade her concern. 

Bloop was almost entirely wrapped up in Spinette's twisting and winding limbs, even lifting a hand out of her face as her laughter died down into a pleased sigh.

Spinette stretched her head in front of Bloop, "Ya had fun right?"

Instead of responding immediately, Bloop reached forward and pulled Spinette's head to her chest to hug her tightly, "That was astounding, truly!"

With a cheer, Spinette unwound her body from Bloop whilst hoisting her up into a hug. After squeezing her once, Spinette's eyes snapped towards Spinel, and she quickly darted towards her excitedly.

"Ya hear that, Big Spin?" she asked "She had fun! I did it!"

Spinel shrugged before smirking, "Looks like you did, great job in the whole friend department." she said before leaning towards her "But uh... feel like... ya know, playing things straight with me and telling me about what's gettin' ya so down?"

"Nope!"

"Oh come on!!!" Spinel tugged on her own pigtails "Ya saw how I was moving out there. Ya know I'm all kinds of sturdy!"

"Yep yep, you were so cool! Won outright." Spinette nodded before rubbing her hands together "And ya know what that means~!"

Spinel raised an eyebrow as Spinette spun around her, only for her gaze to grow surprised as she found herself being hoisted up onto Spinette's shoulders.

"What are you-?!?"

"Now I gotta to carry _you_ for a whole day~" Spinette cooed as she began dancing around with Spinel

"But that wasn't the prize this-woah!" Spinel gripped tightly to a giggling Spinette as she tried to get back on the previous topic, with Pinks watching on with a evaluating gaze. As she watched, she found a hand gently patting her shoulder and looked over to see Bloop also viewing the duo. But she seemed to be holding back a smile upon watching them, one which grew as Spinette continued haphazardly ferrying Spinel around the room on her shoulders.

"I just can't..." she murmured as a small giggle seeped through her hand, she closed her eyes and lowered her head "they're just so amusing together."

"I... suppose..." Pinks tilted her head "That is true to an extent..."

The sound of the door sliding open behind them made her words trailed off as she looked behind her. There was a barely audible gasp coming from Bloop upon spotting Yellow Pearl stepping inside. She entered with her hands behind her back, posture straight as usual. She took one look at Spinel and Spinette, who didn't seem to consider her arrival as a reason to stop But to Pinks' surprise, the moment that her gaze settled on Bloop she seemed to subtly stiffen up. Pinks didn't tilt her head to look between them, but she could feel Bloop's hand tightening its grasp on her shoulder as their eyes locked on one another. 

Smiling awkwardly upon realizing that there was a notable issue the two must have, Pinks attempted to interject by speaking to Yellow Pearl "Well... it's fairly unusual for you to show up here."

Though it probably wasn't the best attempt, it did lead Yellow Pearl to finally pull her gaze from Bloop and nod to her, "Indeed, I usually don't feel the need for such visits, especially considering how often we interact nowadays. But I've come hoping to resolve an unexpectedly difficult matter."

Hearing that made Spinel halt her attempts to get off of Spinette, who also began slowing down as Yellow Pearl glanced around the room.

"My... _Yellow_ Diamond and I were working diligently to finish going through the last of White Diamond's recollections." She explained "As were checking in with different facets, White claimed to be tired of waiting and that she would go relaxing in the throne room. However, after tidying things up on our end, we have not been able to locate her for confirmation that there is nothing more."

Spinette snickered immediately, "You lost an entire Diamond?" she giggled before waving her off "That ain't even possible, Yelly, they's humongous!"

"Yelly?" Yellow Pearl narrowed her gaze.

Spinel took that opportunity to get off of Spinette, "She ain't exactly wrong, though." she said once her feet were back on the ground "White ain't exactly the inconspicuous type. We were in the throne room earlier and I guarantee we would've seen her if she was walking about near there."

"Besides, White always loved teasing Yellow even while they were working together." Pinks noted before looking to Yellow Pearl "I can't imagine her getting bored in her presence, let alone vanishing on her."

"A sentiment I shared vehemently, yet here we are." Yellow Pearl nodded before turning her attention back to Spinel, "And seeing how she always did have a soft spot for you, well..."

Spinel was about to respond when a thought came to her, making her look down for a moment. The other occupants of the room took note of this, with Spinette leaning towards Spinel and looking her over with interest.

"Say... when you guys were working, did Blue Diamond show up at any point to talk?" Spinel asked

Raising an eyebrow, Yellow Pearl shook her head, "Not to my recollection."

Frown deepening, Spinel began approaching her "And White and Yellow... did they maybe seem off to you?"

Finally getting a grasp of Spinel's train of logic, Pink Pearl tilted her head "Wait..."

"Well, I suppose the reason we finished so early could be traced to their lack of banter today." Yellow Pearl looked away whilst rubbing at her chin "White wasn't teasing, Yellow wasn't calling her out on her actions as much, very professional day for both of them. Almost as if-"

"As if they're still caught up thinking about my performance earlier!" Spinel slapped her hands against the side of her face from the realization before groaning "Ughhh! Blue must not have been able to clear the air with them yet!"

"B-But would that be enough to lead White to just wander off?" Pink Pearl tilted her head as Spinel pushed past all of them towards the door "I know the Diamonds adore you, but to think such a thing could have that much of an effect on her-"

"I gotta clear that up with her even if it wasn't!" Spinel declared before grumbling and turning back towards her "They gave me a new home. A new purpose! I... I can't just leave 'em hanging on something like this."

Closing her eye, Pink Pearl nodded, "Very well, then allow me to aid in your search. I'm sure that even one extra eye could expedite this matter."

Spinel's eyes widened a bit before a smile spread out along her face. She'd almost run off on her own to try looking but, as usual, Pinks was right. If there were more gems looking then spotting someone as big as White Diamond went from straightforward to downright easy. Almost immediately, her gaze turned to Bloop to see if she could help as well. But Spinel's smile weakened upon realizing that Bloop was staring fairly intently at Yellow Pearl, she hadn't taken her eyes off her once since she'd arrived. Spinel was almost ready to reconsider her unspoken request, but then Spinette wrapped an arm around Bloop from behind and leaned over her shoulder.

"Count us in too!" Spinette laughed before hugging Bloop and staring to the ceiling in awe "I only seen one o' them Diamond types, but they's all really big like the last one, right? I wanna see all o' them!"

As if invigorated by Spinette's raw enthusiasm alone, a smile worked itself back onto Bloop's face as she put a hand over her's and nodded, "Well... then I guess I have to join as well."

Yellow Pearl seemed eager not to take note of that, instead turning back towards the doorway, "Well then, I suppose we'll have to discuss who looks where." she noted whilst stepping outside "If we lose track of each other we could end up wasting more time than necessary."

"That shouldn't be much issue," Pink Pearl offered as she followed behind her "If we work in pairs then even the Palace shouldn't take long to comb over."

"Yeah! There's still tons around here I ain't seen yet, Pinky!" Spinette skipped after them "This'll be a great chance to-"

A hand wrapped around Spinette's chest while she was still mid-skip, leaving her dangling above the ground with a raised eyebrow before glancing back to Spinel. Bloop paused as Spinette was pulled past her to Spinel's side, her earlier relief turning to confusion as the other Pearls glanced back towards them.

"You guys go on ahead real quick, just gotta get a lil' something sorted out with Spinsy here." Spinel explained, with Spinette's confusion turning into glee once more as she shrugged and took the opportunity to hug Spinel yet again. Both Bloop and Pink Pearl seemed hesitant for completely different reasons, but Yellow Pearl merely rolled her eyes before walking off. Soon, both of the others followed after her. Spinel's face fell as she glanced down to the gem holding onto her, her arm unwinding from around Spinette and letting her feet drop to the floor.

"Now... Netty?" Spinel said, waiting until Spinette looked up to her with yet another enthusiastic smile "Just because I'm dealing with some Diamond Biz right now don't mean I'm gonna be forgettin' about our talk any time soon."

"Well that ain't no kind o' surprise," Spinette snickered "My bestie's got one o' the bestest memories around."

"Yeah yeah," Spinel looked away with a frown "just know that I'm gonna get ya to stop this whole restraint act of yours at some point. I ain't exactly the give up and let be type of Gem."

"Awww," Spinette pouted as she unwound herself from Spinel and looked up at her "well I guess I gotta enjoy having fun with you up until then, right?"

"I'm serious here!" Spinel declared as she walked backwards towards the door "I remember how holding back for too long ended up hitting me all at once. But even excluding that mess, you and I are built for making folks smile. I might got me some major wear and tear over the years, but I like to think I'm still a lil' invested in that whole smile making business. So the thought o' you having to fake it around me's gettin' me all kinds o' messed up."

"I'd bet," Spinette put a finger to her lip and thought "can't imagine anything more infuriating than a fake smile when we's supposed to be making real ones."

"Then-!" Spinel slapped a hand over her mouth, grumbling at the realization that she was basically slamming her head into a solid wall at this point "One o these days, Spinsy. Just you wait."

With that she turned and made her way out of the room angrily, not noticing the way Spinette's smile immediately got strained.

"Don't worry Big Spin," she called out with enthusiasm even as she reached up and squeezed her head with both hands "I'll be sure to wait as long as it takes!"

With Spinel and her other pals out of sight, Spinette couldn't stop her expression from tightening harshly. She had to fight to maintain her smile, but the tears were another issue. They flowed fairly liberally, a problem that had only grown more problematic the longer her attempts to get a genuine smile from her bestie had gone fruitless. She was getting close, she just knew any day now that she'd find the solution to her best friend's sad smiles. She couldn't exactly go messing up before then, that'd just make her job harder. She knew that figuring out how to get Big Spin to give her a big ol' smile on her own was the solution, then she could stop feeling so angry about things.

Until then, however...

Spinette pulled her head forward, her neck stretching as she held on tightly before squatting and shaking it harshly. The room blurred as her hands swung her own head to and fro wildly for a moment, but once she was done she found the flow of tears sufficiently cut off. Stretching her head back into place, Spinette's smile returned in full force. But just to be sure, she gave a little jig before happily skipping out of the room after her pals. She really didn't want to miss out on this fun-sounding search for the Diamond after all. What kind of friend would she be to not want to join in on group activities like that? It was just like Big Spin had said, after all, they were built for making folks smile. Sure, it was too bad that she apparently wasn't able to do that for the only gem she truly wanted to smile, but the joy of her other pals had been able to sufficiently stifle her dismay over that... if only for a little while. 

Was there really anything better than making smiles?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well this took far longer than I expected, 
> 
> This chapter was actually supposed to be two different ones, but as time went on and I couldn't really find a good place to stop for one I figured just mashing the contents of it and the next chapter would simplify things. It'll probably take me a while to determine how this might affect the end results, but it also provided me with an option of giving a fairly lengthy update in return for all the time it took to get this out.
> 
> Either way, this has allowed me to finally push through into a new kind of arc, I suppose you could call it. After so much time spent developing that whole side thing with Eyeball and Peri-4OI, I think it's about time I turn the spotlight onto the Pearls and Diamonds for a bit. By the time we get back I should have more to write for them, but I won't let that distract me from the main through-line here. 
> 
> Anyway, hope you enjoy, any and all criticisms positive or negative are welcomed in full so leave a comment if you are so inclined to do. Like it? Hate it? Any ways you feel I could improve? Expectations for the next chapter? All are welcome and I will see you all in the next Installment of Leftovers.


End file.
